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January

1 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

I have started the New Year in proper fashion by declaring it a rest day for man and beast. I'm still suffering from sore ligaments/tendons in my hip and now just above the backside of the right knee. That does not include the painful right shoulder which I'm not sure what it is that hurts so much, joint or tendons?

I am becoming more and more convinced that what is happening is I'm developing psoriatic arthritis (PA). My Medical officer in Bulgaria, when she correctly diagnosed that I had psoriasis, told me that this day would probably come but she could not tell me when. Maybe I have been lucky to avoid it for this long.

I did have the right shoulder problem about 5 years ago but it went away. This is true of PA, it can come and go until it finally settles in for your remaining life. There is no known cure, so you do live with it for as long as you might live. I need to have this checked out by the VA at my annual checkup in Pahrump in April. Took an Advil this morning to see if that might help and will take one tonight before I go to bed. I'm always so much worse when I first get up in the morning that maybe this will help.

The beast, that is Patches in this household, was showing signs of being VERY tired by the time we got home yesterday. She put on a brave front this morning but was not insistent that we go run/walk and has settled into a VERY relaxed/restful day on the couch. Belly to the sun part of the time and taking full advantage of a do nothing day.

My neighbor, Richard, that took us out for a run/walk when I first got here had his ankle and foot swell up and giving him a lot of pain. The local Ajo clinic gave him some pills for gout but they did nothing for him. He talked to his home doctor yesterday and upon his advice left this morning. His regular doctor thinks it may be a kidney issue.

I gave him a hand yesterday evening and then this morning helped him get the trailer hitched up. He has a long day drive in front of him and won't make it home before dark. I wish him well and hope the problem is resolved quickly and painlessly.

That is about all there is on this first day of 2012. The weather has set a standard that is going to be hard to repeat much less exceed. It is a beautiful day in Ajo, AZ!

The excerpt below is from the blog Of Two Minds posted on December 30, 2011. It is a far better explanation of why I quit First Trust Bank in 1990 than anything I could have written at the time, or even now with my much improved hindsight. Keep in mind that this was at the end of the Savings and Loan failure bubble and the scandals surrounding them. First Trust Bank had a balance sheet that looked like a S&L rather than a commercial/retail bank.

There were actually S & L people that went to jail during that period of time. Why have none of the banking people joined them in recent years? The Justice Department has been VERY active in bring suit against states that want to enforce Federal Immigration Law but no action at all against the Big Banks.

In a way, a belief in the value, transparency, trust and reciprocity of the System is like a religious belief. The converts, the true believers, are the ones who work like crazy for the company, or the Force or the firm. And when the veil of illusion is tugged from their eyes, then the Believer does a reversal, and becomes a devout non-believer in the System. He or she drops out, moves to a lower position, or "retires" to some lower level of employment.
When the most dedicated servants of the system awaken to the realization that they are not benefiting from their service as they'd once believed, that their near-religious faith in the System has been bruised by the grim knowledge that the few are benefiting from the lives and sacrifices of the many, then they simply quit, or move down the chain to an undemanding position.
Then you realize you don't have to work 60 hours a week, or live in a big house. Let somebody else step up and take all the heat and the guff and the never-catch-up endlessness of the work.
At that point--a point I anticipate will come to pass in the next 5-10 years--then the elites' machine grinds to a crawl. People don't have to throw their bodies on the gears of the machine--they just have to stop believing, stop taking that promotion, and stop wanting to trade their entire lives for a thin slice of more more more.
If that day comes, then the social contract will have to be rewritten, or an entirely new set of elites will have to emerge with a new social contract which people are willing to believe and trust.

2 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

It got up into the high 70s yesterday and may see 80° today. Yesterday morning was in the low 40s but this morning it was in the high 50s and up into the 60s by the time we returned from our walk.

We did only two miles up and back to the Roadrunner Java Bakery. I sat by the window again where Patches could see me and this time she acted reasonably calm when I came out.

Did some brief socializing with a couple that stopped for coffee before going to Marble Mountain. This is an old volcano that when it erupted it cast out molten rock that fell back to earth as round marbles.

At 12:30 today the Pima County Sheriff Department set up a Drunk Driver Check Point almost in front of me. This will afford some entertainment for Patches I'm sure and when she tells me something good is happening I can the watch also.

No excitement during the early afternoon. It was so mellow that I slipped off into a nap which I don't do that often. Or, maybe I just don't recognize that I have lost a few minutes during they day. If it gets exciting after dark I hope it all happens up the road a piece.

In an Associated Press story Bill Wade made the comment shown below. The law that took effect in 2010 allowed loaded guns to be brought into National Parks. I would really, really like to ask Wade if he thought Colton would NOT have brought his guns with him in the Park if there were a law against it. This is delusional thinking on Wade's part, he is obviously so anti-gun that his thinking has been distorted.

I don't have a big argument with Wade about his position, that is what he believes. I do have a big problem with the Associated Press printing his statement without also bringing up my point that Colton would have had the loaded gun with him even if there had been a law against it and the 'tragedy' would not have been prevented.

The Iraq War veteran being sought in the slaying of a Mount Rainier National park ranger may have headed to the remote wilderness area to "hide out" after an earlier shooting near Seattle, authorities said Monday.
About 200 law enforcement officers were involved in the search for Benjamin Colton Barnes, a 24-year-old named a "person of interest" in the Sunday morning killing of Margaret Anderson...
Bill Wade, the outgoing chair of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, said Congress should be regretting its decision to allow loaded weapons in national parks. He called Sunday's fatal shooting a tragedy that could have been prevented. He hopes Congress will reconsider the law that took effect in early 2010, but doubts that will happen in today's political climate.

3 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

I have a tired dog on my couch today.

Boonie and Coffee Girl came by this morning and picked me up in their van and drove back to their Boondocking camp a little over 4 miles from my RV Park. There we re-introduced the dogs to each other and they had a brief dog "pushing and shoving match".

When that was taken care of they went their own running way while we walked a 3.4 mile loop SE of Ajo Peak. Patches was introduced to some cholla that was in her left front and left rear legs and paws as well as a couple long thorns in her back.

When we got back to to Boonies camp Coffee Girl was put in detention for not coming when called. The rest of us drove to Marcella's for breakfast and some good conversation while eating it.

I then got the backpack on Patches for our walk home from there, about one mile, and Boonie went to do laundry. Patches was already tired and stayed by my side or trailed behind me, very unusual, all the way home. A very slow climb up into the motorhome and she has been a 'lump' on the couch the rest of the day. Her two front paws are beat up quite a bit so I need to go a little easier on her running for a few days.

I seem to be more sore all over than anywhere else but I think the Advil I'm taking twice a day is helping. I'll stay with it for 10 days and then not take them for a week or 10 day before going back to them if necessary. I sent an email to my VA - PA and told her what was going on a couple of days ago. Maybe she will have some advice for me?

The early morning low today was a match for yesterday at near 60°. We may have set a new high temperature record of over 80° yesterday and the forecast is for another near record today. There is a bit more cloud cover today versus what we have had for the past week. It will be cooling some during the next week but still a GREAT forecast.

Nothing of an exciting nature going on today. The DUI Check Point folded up yesterday and I did not even notice until they were gone. I did start to prepare the Will Roger weekly article links for January yesterday so that will be a major project for the next few days.

Don't you just love how the politicos in Washington think when it comes to Budget, Spending, Deficits and Debt. The payroll tax deal was to reduce Social Security receipts for two months and this will be paid for with revenue from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the next 10 years. I have NOT seen a report that the money will actually be put into the Social Security Trust Fund if it is received.

This is revenue from two companies that have been operating at a loss since the Federal Government took them over. So the bookkeeping entries go something like this: payroll tax (adds to Deficit and Debt this year), revenue from Fannie and Freddie (reduces Deficit and Debt over 10 years) but that is offset by the operating losses of Fannie and Freddie over the same 10 years. This all assumes that Fannie and Freddie will still exist at the end of 10 years.

An 11th-hour payroll tax cut extension signed into law last week would for the first time divert funds directly from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two mortgage-finance companies under U.S. conservatorship, to pay for general government expenses.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA currently back more than 90 percent of loan originations, about double what they did during the subprime lending boom, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, a trade publication.
Earlier in the year, both the Obama administration and members of Congress outlined plans to reverse that trend. In February, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner released three options for reducing government's role in housing finance. Shortly afterward, Republicans introduced bills to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have cost taxpayers about $153 billion since 2008 because of defaults on loans they guaranteed.
"It seems to be an inherent contradiction counting on revenue from a 10-year increase in guarantee fees from agencies that might not be around in 10 years," said Joe Pigg, vice president of mortgage finance at the American Bankers Association , an industry trade group in Washington.

4 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

My 'lump' on the couch yesterday did well for the first 2.4 miles this morning but kind of fell apart when I stopped at Roadrunner Java for coffee and fritter.

She was tied to her same post, this may be a mistake, and was waiting patiently for me to come back out. A big 'biker' looking fellow pulled up right in front of her, climbed out of his pickup and walked over to her and gave a pet, no problem. Not long after that a very young boy ran past her and she started barking at him and would not shut up even after he was inside.

I went out and had a talk with her but that didn't make any difference. When the young boy came out she started barking at him as soon as she saw him. There may be some bad memories about a young boy, I don't know. This is the first time I have seen her in that situation so it is something else for me to keep in mind.

She was a bit of a 'slug' for the last mile home and has assumed the 'lump' posture, in the sun, once more for the rest of the day (snoring for a good part of it). Her feet look better but I don't want her to run any more for at least one more day.

I am still hurting at the beginning of the day. The walk with Patches does no harm and may be beneficial, the pain is no greater than just sitting so why not walk. I have not received a reply from my VA-PA yet so do not have any reason to change what I'm doing at this point.

It is that time of the year when everyone with a financial/political/societal blog, or almost everyone, make their predictions for the New Year. The following is from the blog Of Two Minds and is the prediction that I'm going with for the year. The Year 2012 will not be a year of the 'New Normal' but rather the 'Paranormal'!

I find it ironic that President Obama ran his 2008 Campaign on 'Change'. He has then governed, if you want to call it that, in a way to maintain the Status Quo and his 2012 Campaign is focusing on preserving the Status Quo.

The faith is that extending and pretending will magically restore the "growth" the Status Quo needs to support its ballooning debt. Extending and pretending offers up the compelling illusion that the system's broken self-regulation is up to the task of fixing systemic problems.
The essence of Talib's "black swan" insight is that instabilities that are written off by the Status Quo as "extremely low probability" become high-probability when low-level systemic instabilities are suppressed by extend and pretend and endless propaganda.
The Status Quo has suppressed instability with brute force and propaganda for four long years; while the Elites are patting themselves on the back and confidently predicting they can safely navigate 2012 with more extend and pretend, the odds are increasingly favoring the emergence of "unlikely" disruptions...
In the darkness overhead, we can hear the beating of unseen wings that promise to make a mockery of the Status Quo's supreme Imperial hubris.

Charles Hugh Smith of Of Two Minds has got it exactly right in his following comments. The Lame Stream Media tried their best to marginalize Ron Paul as just a kook but they have seemingly failed and now must remove him from nomination consideration.

The Status Quo's Ministry of Propaganda has a single political task for 2012: eliminate the sole threat to the Status Quo (Ron Paul) from the running, leaving voters with a "choice" of clueless stooges for the Power Elite. That roster includes President Obama and the daytime-TV/soap-opera field of Republicrat contenders.
The Ministry of Propaganda has settled on a ludicrous strategy to eliminate Ron Paul: declare Paul "unelectable."
As with all propaganda, the basic idea is that if it is repeated often enough on officially sanctioned stages, it will eventually be accepted as "true."
Our Christmas-New Year's week of family visits took us to homes where the television is on all the time, and as a result I was exposed to the Ministry of Propaganda's preferred media, TV "news." Regardless of the channel or program, the message was the same: "The presidential race will between Obama and either Romney or Gingrich."

5 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

Patches and I did a short walk with her new harness this morning. I bought her an Easy Walker harness that is touted as a solution to the pulling problem. She did much better than with the collar but not as well as with her backpack.

I can use this harness when I'm going for short distances and then turning her loose off leash. The collar will be for 'potty' walks and the backpack will be for long walks. I don't think she likes the backpack or the harness all that much but she puts up with them.

We stopped at the Roadrunner Java Bakery again but they have no bakery items on Thursday. Patches was BAD again, barking at people that were coming into the Bakery. She then got even worse when Coffee Girl showed up and she was getting petting and attention and Parches was not. I think there was a jealousy thing going on this morning.

I had another good conversation with 'Boonie' who road down on his mountain bike with Coffee Girl running along beside him. He says that she loves it when he can keep up with her while she is running. He has to slow down sometimes for her to keep up with him but she loves that also because she does not understand that he is coasting or breaking.

After I got home I went across the street and did my weekly shopping at Olsen's. Didn't bring the cart into the RV Park and disturb the gravel this time. It took 4-5 trips from the gate into the Park to Desperado but I didn't hear any crap from the Park owner (male half).

Put some of the purchases on the stove rather than shelving them. Made some tacos for lunch since I only had a cookie for breakfast. Then made a batch of stew with fresh green beans, fresh mushrooms, canned potatoes and stew meat that was browned off. That is now seasoning in the Cooker until tomorrow.

More bad News for the taxpayer about another of their 'green investments', that President Obama made on our behalf, is looking kind of shaky. This is not the last to go bad in the auto segment just one of the smaller 'investments'.

Fisker Automotive is recalling all 239 of its 2012 Karma luxury plug-in hybrid cars because of a fire hazard, according to a report filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Prices on the 2012 model start at $103,000, including the destination charge. Fisker said the problem was discovered on Dec. 16, when workers at the Valmet Automotive assembly plant in Finland noticed coolant dripping.
In a report filed recently on the agency's Web site, Fisker said some hose clamps were not properly positioned, which could allow a coolant leak. "If coolant enters the battery compartment an electrical short could possibly occur, causing a thermal event within the battery, including a possible fire in the worse case," the company told the safety agency...
This is an electric car company that received a $529 million federal government loan guarantee is assembling its first line of cars in Finland, with the approval of the Obama administration, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work.

Charles Hugh Smith of Of Two Minds says it like it is and like I wish I had the skill to do so. I am so looking forward to a Third Party that does away with both the Democrats and the Republicans - I have a dream!

Longtime readers know I reject all the phony ideological "differences" between the two stooge parties; in reality, the differences are purely cosmetic and are exaggerated for propaganda and fund-raising purposes. Both stooge parties are in thrall to Wall Street and the financial sector, the sickcare cartels, etc., and both support a global Empire and endlessly rising public debt to finance their cronies. Both have consistently supported private profits while shifting monumental losses to the public. Both have consistently supported an out-of-control Federal Reserve. In every truly important way, the two stooge parties are merely two sides of the same Imperial coin.

6 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

Read Will Rogers column 88 years ago: January 6, 1924

Boonie and Coffee Girl came by this morning and gave us a ride out to the west where I walked last week. The two girls got along great this morning, no doggies 'pushing and shoving' and they ran together more than they have in the past.

We did a big loop of 2.5 miles along a multitude of BLM trails and other ATV trails. This west side is much more scenic that the east and compares favorably with the Darby Well Road area for views and has easier access to Olsen's.

After our run/walk we went to Marcella's for breakfast and a lot of visiting by Boonie and myself. The dogs just laid around outside and took life easy, Patches only barking at one person that came in or out of the restaurant; have no idea why.

When we went or way after eating Boonie went to do laundry and I walked Patches home with her halter and leash. She did even better today and if I keep her at a short leash she walks along beside me very well. She even met another dog along the way and her reaction was not what I want it to be but she behaved well. Part of that was my early interceding but still she did well.

I did a load of laundry also after I got home. Then it was the normal routine of blog reading, Internet News and reading my new long novel by James Clavell the author of Whirlwind that I read not so long ago. It is longer than that one if I remember correctly so it will keep me entertained for some time. Finishing up the Will Rogers weekly articles for January and maybe start on February.

The Bureau of Labor has released their non-farm job numbers for December, an increase of 200,000, which the media has reported as being good news. They are focusing more on the unemployment rate which fell to 8.5% as being the very good NEWS story from the release.

However, if you look at the Bureau's historical data, by month, for Total Employed (which includes farm workers and has not been manipulated quite as much) you find this trend: September ADDED 353,000, October ADDED 190,000, November ADDED 317,000 and December ADDED 176,000. This does not look nearly as promising for future improvement as the trend did at the end of November and before the BLS made their year end number adjustments.

It was good news that Unemployed went down by 226,000 and the number of Employed went up more than the increase in the Population (I said before that is always good news to me).

The bad thing about the drop in Unemployed is that most of them did NOT find jobs but left the labor force. The Not In The Labor Force went up 194,000 causing the Civilian Labor Force to decline by 50,000. This resulted in the small drop in the Unemployment Rate.

So far so good, if President Obama can extend this trend into 2012 he will be able to claim that he has brought the country back to Full Employment by Election Day. The key is to continue to move the Unemployed to Not In The Labor Force. The number of Employed can remain stable or even decline if those moves are large enough.

Have you noticed that President Obama has changed his speaking venues from University Campuses to High Schools. This didn't work out very well for him recently, his message does not seem to be reaching this audience. He might have to seek out some Middle Schools next to get the audience reaction that he is craving.

During his opening remarks to students at Shaker Heights High School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, President Obama got laughs when he told students that they inspire him.
"I want you to know you're the reason that I ran for this office in the first place. You remind me what we are still fighting for," Obama said to tepid cheers.
"You inspire me," Obama said to an audience that laughed at him.

7 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

I got a new neighbor last night after it was dark and Patches did not like that very much. Lots of growling and some low 'woffs' and a bark or two. I got on her case about the barking and she did finally settle down. After we got home from our morning walk I introduced her to the neighbor and she was the sweetest dog you would ever want to see.

He then was opening basement doors and finishing getting set up so was making some noise that she did not like. Let me, and him, know that this was not acceptable to her by starting to bark again and would not shut up. I tried the 'Quiet' Command and rewarded her with a treat if she happened to miss a bark.

She just would not give it up, even after I took her outside to see what he was doing. Every time he made some noise she would start barking again. No and Quite were not getting through to her so I gave her a good scuff of the neck shaking and some serious Bad Dog admonishments. That did get her attention, she shut up and has been trying to make up to me the rest of the day.

Our walk, with backpack, was the toward town route with the little loop added on the end for a total of 3.5 miles. Stopped at Olsen's and got a couple of biscuit with sausage breakfast sandwiches. When I came out a manager type was standing near the front door and asked me if Patches was my dog. I told him yes and he said he was from Hollywood and had a contract for Patches.

He said she reminded him so much of the dog in The Little Rascals that had the circle around the one eye. I looked up the bio for the original dog that played the part, there were many, and found that he was registered with the AKC as both a Pit Bull and a Staffordshire. So, current owners of both breeds claim him as one of their celebrity dogs.

An even more interesting bit of trivia was that the natural circle was only about 3/4 complete. To fix that an unknown, at the time, make up artist was hired to color in the rest of the circle - the make up artist was Max Factor.

Another perfect weather day. The forecast is for lower temperatures over the next 3-4 days but still to be pretty nice. I am sure happy that I left Huachuca City.

8 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

Even before I got up this morning I thought I could hear the wind blowing so did not plan on walking. Then when we went out for Patches to do her early morning potty walk we found it was cold and windy.

Usually Patches will do a hurried pulling walk toward the gate in the fence, maybe 150 feet, where her 'spot' has now been marked. She wasn't going for that this morning, made it maybe 20 feet from the front door, did her business and headed right back home. No messing around in the cold for her!

After I got all my Daily blogs read it was time that Olsen's would be open so I went over and picked up a biscuit, egg and sausage for breakfast and some chicken strips with a salad for my early dinner. I'll make some tacos for lunch today as we will be staying in almost all day.

Patches and I had another test of wills this morning concerning her barking. She started in for no reason that I could hear or see and would not shut up to a Quiet Command so she got another scruff of the neck shaking. She understands that!

She soon was asleep on the couch in a patch of sun and snoring like an old lady rather than the young willful girl that she is!

9 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

It was a cold morning, below 40°, but without the wind blowing so not too cold for a walk. Patches was rather insistent that we go for one. Remember back in October I was whining about getting a dog to walk with me to provide more motivation, and I could not get her to walk on loose leash. Well, NOW I have her.

My joint, ligaments, tendons and what ever else is hurting me said stay in bed. Patches was saying lets go for a walk, lets go for a walk, lets go – so we went. With backpack on paved roads to the west of the RV Park where there are homes situated on very large lots. Some of them are very nice homes and some are simply a RV parked on the property.

I saw another walker coming from a side street with 5-6 dogs so kept watch behind me to see if he turned my way. He did so and I got Patches well off the road and had her sit while giving her the Leave It Command. She did VERY well, with only some minor reaction.

The walker and his pack of dogs were amazing. The pack was leashed together but I saw no leash that he held and the pack was trailing along right behind him just as pretty as you please. I would have loved to talked to him but it was not the time nor place.

Within a 1/2 mile he and his pack went past 3 dogs running loose and there was no barking from any of the dogs. I saw them when they were maybe 50 yards away and one of them was a Doberman that came toward us and began barking. Patches did not respond with any barks of her own but she did want to get in his face. She didn't want to bad enough that I could not control her and just keep moving up the street while the Doberman kept barking and driving us away from his 'turf'.

Patches handled that confrontation fairly well considering. I had visions of us both getting chewed up but we kept moving and soon the Doberman considered his job done and went back to doing what ever he was doing before we disturbed him.

In his blog this week James Howard Kunstler takes it to ALL the Republican candidates running for President. Then he turns to President Obama, who he strongly supported in 2008 and will support again come the 2012 election. But, he sure is taking his shots at him now; even talking impeachment. Who would have thought it would have come to this for James.

As for the other side, the "folks" now occupying the White House and its folkster-in-chief, Mr. Obama - the time has come to abandon them. Their failure is complete with the new national security act that allows for suspension of due process of law. The cheek of Mr. Obama in offering a "signing statement" to the effect that his administration would not enforce the law! - as he signed it! For one thing, Obama tacitly invited his own impeachment by declaring he had no intention of enforcing federal law, since enforcement is the chief duty of his office. If John Boehner were not himself such a fraud, he would have started a motion for impeachment before sundown that day...
This ripe time is the natural moment for a true opposition to rise. A few months from now neither major party will have a credible candidate or a plausible platform of ideas. This will be painfully obvious. What angels and demons will rush into that awful vacuum?

Then there is Charles Hugh Smith taking it to Bernanke in his blog Of Two Minds today. I agree with his view that Bernanke has probably made the situation worse and will continue to do so.

Bernanke's policy is to punish capital accumulation and reward leveraged debt expansion. Rather than enforce the market's discipline and transparent pricing of risk, debt and assets, Bernanke has explicitly set out to re-inflate a destructive, massively unproductive credit bubble.
This is why Bernanke has failed so completely, and why he will continue to fail. He is not engaged in capitalism, he is engaged in the destruction of capital, investment discipline and the open pricing of risk, debt and assets. When the next "credit event" sweeps round the Fed's Maginot Line of encouraging mal-investment and masking fraud and rolls up the entire financial sector's defenses against mispriced risk and credit, Bernanke will be inside the over-run HQ, wondering how his "brilliant" policies could have failed so spectacularly.

10 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

The low this morning was about like yesterday but it warmed up very nicely into the mid 60s by early afternoon. A few high scattered clouds with a forecast of partly cloudy the next few days. The lows are to be back in the low 40s so that is good.

Patches and I did a short out and back to Marcella's where I had breakfast. She sat and waited for me like a perfect lady, not a bark out of her as quite a few people came and went. I had another neighbor move in yesterday afternoon and she accepted them also without any fuss.

Then this afternoon she had another unexplained barking fit that she cut short with the Quiet Command. Maybe she is starting to understand what Quiet means and got that way before I grabbed the scruff of her neck again?

When it warmed up around noon I dumped holding tanks and added fresh water. I know now that the gray water tank will be reporting full for a couple of days before I get a signal to add fresh water. I dumped the black tank first of course but it is still reporting that it is full.

President Obama is back at the trough with another Debt Limit increase of $1.2 Trillion. The total Debt now exceeds GDP for the Country with an optimistic forecast that it will increase by 2% this year but he wants to increase the Debt Limit by almost 8%.

Sadly, I don't hear any of the Republican candidates, other than Ron Paul, offering a solution. I am afraid Romney is simply another supporter of the Status Quo.

11 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

The high clouds this morning made for a great sunrise. They also threw a translucent veil across the face of the nearly setting full moon. Great views in the sky to the east and the west.

Patches and I did approximately the same run/walk that we last did with Coffee Girl in the area to the west. This morning we did it clockwise and took a couple of slightly different routes for a 4 mile total. Patches ran about 6 miles and walked one.

It was still in the 40s when we got home so I started up the Wave 6 and the Heater Hog was right there in front until I shut it off. She then found her a spot in the sun on the couch and has taken root for the rest of the day.

I tried to introduce her to another man that we meet on the road coming back home and she growled at him. Made her sit and I then moved next to the man and asked her to come, she then found no problem with him and was happy to get some petting.

A couple of blocks later we met a woman and it was a totally different story. Patches was happy as she could be to meet her. I think she has had a bad experience with a man sometime in the past but the men that she has had a problem with have also seemed to be afraid of her so maybe she senses that.

I have taken ibuprofen (Advil) for the past 10 days, the maximum advised. I asked my VA-PA about what I should do and she said I could alternate with Acetaminophen (Tylenol). I was hoping that I could take nothing for 10 days and then go back to to the ibuprofen but I have too much hurting me all at one time in the morning when I get up for that to happen yet.

If I took nothing I'm not sure that I could get my socks and pants on to start the day. The walking hurts also but not any worse than sitting, getting up, sitting, getting up during the day. Will see how it goes this next 10 days.

Harry Belafonte didn't hold back during a recent radio chat on "Smiley & West,"co-hosted by Tavis Smiley and Cornel West. However, you can bet he will vote for him come November 2012 although he said that he would not. He certainly will not vote for a Republican, whoever that might be.

"My question is, what legacy will he leave, having the opportunity to serve under such hugely dramatic circumstances and had such a huge impact on the universal state of things … how could he have had such a splendid opportunity to do more than most presidents would have ever been able to do, and he let that opportunity slip away from him.
I'm very cautious of the fact that those who think he has some second agenda and only if he could be given a second term for us to see the new light, new things will be revealed, new efforts will be made to take us to a place other than where we've been and where we languish. I just don't trust that. I don't believe that's a safe way and accurate way to look at this scenario. If there was the kind of moral compass serving Barack Obama the way we hoped, the moral force would have helped him make choices, the absence of that force in his equations, that barometer to guide him when he has to make these decisions that are hugely complicated, he should have come to the table with the things that would have helped us in this moment of crisis.”

12 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

I said yesterday, it was still in the 40s when we got home so I started up the Wave 6 and the Heater Hog was right there in front until I shut it off. She then found her a spot in the sun on the couch and had taken root for the rest of the day.

In the late afternoon she had moved to the floor and I asked her if she wanted to go for a potty walk. She could not get up, her rear legs would not raise her. I got her outside and she was able to walk very slowly carrying her left rear leg part of the time. She could not climb back into the motorhome and could not climb up onto the couch.

There was a short set of rock steps leading up to the RV spaces where I'm parked that she tried to climb and her legs collapsed. She struggled back to her feet and made it up the steps but it just broke my heart. She will go, or try her best to go, where ever I take her so I now need to think more about what I'm asking her to do.

I was prepared to take her to a vet in Buckeye, AZ today if she was not better. Fortunately she was able to stand, walk, jump up on the couch and climb Desperado's stairs this morning after we got up. You should have seen the two of us this morning; both crippled up and hobbling around. I don't know which of us is in the worse shape right now.

I did a LOT of research last night and this morning. I'm pretty sure that Patches has hip dysplacia, has had it ever since I got her but I just did not recognize the signs. I'm going to reduce the amount of exercise she has been doing and maybe start her on a daily aspirin for the pain.

Hopefully this will allow her to maintain her mobility until we get to Pahrump. There I can get her to a vet for a more professional diagnosis and a plan of treatment. The VA will be doing the same thing with me to confirm whether I have psoriatic arthritis or some other malady and give me a plan of treatment.

I hobbled across the street and filled a cart with groceries at Olsen's again this morning. The walk around the store plus the 4 trips from the RV Park fence to Desperado carrying my purchases helped loosen me up. The tendons behind my right knee are the most painful followed by my two shoulders, right one being the worse.

It was warm this morning because of the cloud cover that came in last night. That has worked just the opposite during the day with the high only getting up into the mid-60s. The next couple of days should bring us about the same.

13 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

Read Will Rogers column 88 years ago: January 13, 1924

I had a very nice visit from Boonie and Coffee Girl this morning soon after we had returned home from our short 1 mile walk with backpack. Boonie rode his mountain bike with Coffee Girl trotting along beside him from his Boondocking Camp to my RV Park.

We sat inside and visited, Patches got a lot of attention and Coffee Girl took a snooze on the cold concrete slab outside, although it was in the sun and she seemed to enjoy it. Boonie was checking on Patches's condition. To look at her today you would think I was making up a story about her inability to get up and walk last Wednesday.

I am going to judge how much exercise she can handle by how she climbs Desperado's stairs. Today she did fine, no hesitation and bounded right up them. Tomorrow I'll take her for a 2 mile walk and then on Sunday go for 3 miles. Right now she is in better shape to do those distances than I am.

I hurt a lot in the morning when I get up and try to walk. The generic Acetaminophen that I'm taking does nothing for the inflammation of my tendons. I also need to get my dosage timing adjusted so that the pain relief is kicking in when I get up and want to walk, I'm not there yet.

Cold this morning somewhere around 36° and still in the 40s until after 10:00. Should get up into the mid-60s a a high today with a clear blue AZ sky once more. The forecast is for more of the same for another few days.

I have removed Libya from the list of U.S. Wars but may add any casualties that occur in Africa where President Obama has sent his assassination team. I believe there are still troops in Iraq and will report any casualties there also although the President says we have withdrawn. The table below shows the deaths by full year and the President in office when they occurred.

Total US Casualties Iraq & Afghanistan
Bush		Obama
2001	12	-0-
2002	49	-0-
2003	534	-0-
2004	901	-0-
2005	945	-0-
2006	920	-0-
2007	1021	-0-
2008	469	-0-
2009	-0-	466
2010	-0-	559
2011	-0-	472

The Lame Stream Media doesn't say much about the number of U.S. Troops that are dying but are playing the Marine urination scandal to the hilt as is their usual anti-military wont. I think I will stand behind Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), a former Army lieutenant colonel, in what he had to say in an email sent to The Weekly Standard.

"I have sat back and assessed the incident with the video of our Marines urinating on Taliban corpses. I do not recall any self-righteous indignation when our Delta snipers Shugart and Gordon had their bodies dragged through Mogadishu. Neither do I recall media outrage and condemnation of our Blackwater security contractors being killed, their bodies burned, and hung from a bridge in Fallujah.
"All these over-emotional pundits and armchair quarterbacks need to chill. Does anyone remember the two Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division who were beheaded and gutted in Iraq?
"The Marines were wrong. Give them a maximum punishment under field grade level Article 15 (non-judicial punishment), place a General Officer level letter of reprimand in their personnel file, and have them in full dress uniform stand before their Battalion, each personally apologize to God, Country, and Corps videotaped and conclude by singing the full US Marine Corps Hymn without a teleprompter.
"As for everyone else, unless you have been shot at by the Taliban, shut your mouth, war is hell.”

14 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

It was only slightly less painful to get up this morning, compared to yesterday, after taking a couple of pain pills at 02:30. When I got up at that time to take them it hurt even worse which was at the end of 8 hours since the previous dosage. So, that may be as good as it gets.

Patches started off her two mile walk just like yesterday but started to lag a bit at the 1.75 mile mark. I also noticed that she did not hesitate to climb Desperado's stairs but she came up them slowly rather than the dash of yesterday.

I'm going to try and do 3 miles with her tomorrow, with a rest at the 2 mile point. I say try because I'm not so sure that I can do the contemplated route. It still hurts a lot to walk, but then again it hurts to get up and down and walk within Desperado.

The forecast is for a high in the low 70s today then back to the mid-60s for next week. The lows to be near 40° to maybe the mid-40s. Still pretty nice weather but the mornings feel a lot colder than the temperature indicates.

If forecast, shown below, comes to pass it will be terrible for President Obama's re-election chances. He will have to do something very, very quickly; maybe price controls which will lead to shortages which will also hurt his chances. The American people will let him take away their Freedom, they will let him usurp powers not granted him but they will NOT accept high gas prices, there will be a revolution.

Gasoline prices could approach $5 a gallon by Memorial Day and stay a record levels for much of the summer, according to a forecast by GasBuddy.com. Gas prices always spike in the summer, but the 2012 Gasbuddy.com Price Outlook predicts this summer will break records.
"It looks like it might be the most painful year at the pump that we have ever seen,"senior analyst Patrick DeHaan said.

Then the President also has Michael Moore on his case again but you know he doesn't really mean it. Come time for the 2012 election he will be supporting Obama against whoever the Republicans nominate and he will be voting for him.

Michael Moore comes out swinging at President Obama at a Tavis Smiley forum on poverty in America.
Moore feels taken advantage of by Obama and warns him that his support could dry up. Moore tells the audience "don't let Barack Obama play that card of 'where else are you going to go?'
"There are enough pissed off people that will go somewhere else," he said.
Moore also took at a jab at Obama's reelection efforts. "How many people now are saying 'Hey, I can't wait to get back on those phonebooks?'" Transcript below.
MICHAEL MOORE: "They're so desperate to be elected, that [it] is more powerful than the money than they're getting from these corporations is your vote. They can't win without your vote -- and don't let the Democrats and Barack Obama play that card of 'Well, where else are you going to go?' You know? They do not want to do that. They really don't want to do that because hey saw what happened in 2000. There's just enough pissed off people that will actually go somewhere else and can cause a huge ruckus as a result of that. So, they do not have to go back very far to think of an example of what happens when you punk on those who have less. Don't do that, President Obama and the Democratic party. Stand up now.
"Imagine Obama calling a press conference in the morning and going "I have decided that this year I am returning all the money I've received from Wall Street and I'm not taking one dime from Wall Street in this election right now." What do you think would happen? What do you would think would happen? Think about the support he would have. People right now -- how many in here went door to door and phone calls and everything in '08? Ask how many people can't wait to get back on the phone banks? It's not there."

15 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

There was a cloud build up late yesterday that brought with them just enough rain to spot everything. The cloud cover stayed over night so it was a lot warmer this morning. That warm temperature didn't increase much until after noon. There was also a very light rain again, about what we had yesterday with neither of them being measurable.

Patches and I did the 3 miles this morning. Stopped at Manuela's for breakfast which took a long time today, she had a big crowd. Got a lot of visiting done with Boonie, who met me there, while we were waiting but it is a VERY noisy restaurant.

Patches was her charming self and then in the next minute she would be barking at someone going in or out of the restaurant. She also was chewing on her leash today, a new behavior that I have not seen before.

After we got home she climbed Desperado's stairs very slowly again like she did yesterday. I could see her lagging a bit as we neared 2 miles again also. I know she would do more if I asked her to but I'm hurting as much as she is I think so 3 miles was plenty.

The remainder of the day was my usual blog reading, both Daily and Monthly, plus a couple that I'm catching up to current from their beginning. Have also done some work on the February weekly articles by Will Rogers but the month is not ready yet.

16 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

We got some more very light rain late in the day but nothing to brag about. There were still lots of clouds this morning when I got up but the wind was pushing them on east.

It was painful to get out of bed this morning and with the wind blowing I called for a rest day. I'm not sure that Patches was in favor but with my two votes to her one we did not walk.

My right shoulder was the worse that it has been but after my pills at 10:30 it started feeling better, not good mind you just better. The tendons behind my right knee are also better but I still have a tough time getting up and down.

Not whining as much as I am documenting what is going on so I can give my VA-PA an accurate account of how this has progressed. I'm hopeful that when I go back on the ibuprofen that it will reduce the inflammation more and give me some relief.

Did nothing other than read blogs and scan the News. With it being MLK Day the News is abbreviated like it is during the weekend. If you will notice most of the News happens Monday thru Friday.

I did make a trek across the road to Olsen's and picked up some groceries. With what I picked up today I don't think I'll be doing a regular weekly shopping trip this week which would be on Thursday.

17 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

I'm not sure if it rained last night or if we had a lot of dew this morning. Desperado was dripping when we went out for Patches's toilette. There was the clean smell of rain so perhaps it did but it did so VERY softly. This left the morning temperatures somewhere in the 40s that warmed up nicely by noon for another great day.

We went for a short 1 mile walk, about all I could do, with a stop at Olsen's for an egg-n-sausage biscuit. Then to the Food Mart next door where they have much better coffee and I am saving a lot of money by bringing my cup back (the clerk tip me off to this a few days ago).

Then at mid-morning I got a visit from Al & Kelly of The Bayfield Bunch. They are camped for some unknown period of time on S. Darby Well Rd where they were at about a month ago.

Patches was all over them like they were long lost family. She behaved so well that they will never believe me when I say she does anything bad. We had a nice visit for probably an hour and then they were going to fill the pantry from Olsen's before going home with a possible stop at Boonies.

It is so good to visit with blog friends face-to-face every once in a while. I now have two of my regular Daily bloggers living as neighbors for a short time. The world is much smaller that we think!

18 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

Patches and I went for our first run/walk since she had her run day and then could not get up. I walked for about a mile while she was probably running two and we walked together less than ½ mile to the area out east of the Park. It is not as pretty or as interesting as to the west but much closer to get to a place where I can take her off leash.

When we got home she was very slow in climbing the stairs of Desperado, maybe more so than when we have walked 2 miles with backpack. I am going to keep experimenting with walk distances and run/walk combinations to see how she does. Will then probably start her on a daily aspirin and see if that makes a difference.

It is another beautiful day. I was able to open my windows at noon and enjoy what I consider perfect comfort. As I told the Bayfiled Bunch yesterday, I don't know where you would go to get any better weather than what we have been having here, don't get in a hurry to move yet.

19 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

No walk this morning. I was very stiff and hurting and Patches did not force the issue. Maybe when I go back on the ibuprofen on Saturday the inflammation and pain can be brought under control, I sure am hoping that to be the case.

Patches just wanted to get some sleep. I took over her couch last night because it has become increasingly difficult for me to get in and out of my cab over bed 3-5 times a night.

This caused her a great deal of anguish, she wanted on the couch also and I refused. Then every time I would get up she tried to reclaim what she thought was her rightful bed on the couch and I ran her off. So her nightly rest was very disturbed and she has been catching up all of today.

She now has a great spot in the sun, on the couch, where she has done some belly sun bathing in the most delightful temperatures. I have my windows wide open once more to another great day.

I did very little except try to give myself some rest also. The only non-routine item included during the day was doing laundry. That is not a daily routine but does not fill the bill for excitement either.

20 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

Read Will Rogers column 88 years ago: January 20, 1924

The run/walk with Patches today was a group outing. Boonie Occupation Of Independence brought Coffee Girl, The Bayfield Bunch brought Pheebs and I had Patches. I was very concerned how she was going to interact with the other two dogs but it went VERY, VERY well.

She knew Coffee Girl so that was not a problem but she surprised me a LOT with how she interacted with Pheebs. Patches is usually extremely 'pushy' but she acted like she had some dog social skills and the three of them went off happily running and sniffing.

After the run/walk Pheebs and Coffee Girl got into a play/fight match and Patches was disturbed by that. I had her on leash by that time so I don't know what she might have done but 'I didn't want my dog in the fight', even though it was more play.

The action took place out to the west where we walked a little over a mile and the dogs probably ran over two. Took Patches home, where she was slow climbing Desperado's stairs, before going to the Roadrunner Bakery for some coffee and good conversation. A first time for me to sit down with two other RV bloggers at the same time. A very enjoyable morning.

I asked Boonie drop me at Olsen's when we said our good-bys at the Bakery but that was almost silly because we all went to Olsen's to pick up groceries. I had my pain medicine at the top of my shopping list and almost left the parking lot without them. Had to go back and pick them up after checking out the first time; is this CRS setting in or part of my scoratic arthritis symptoms.

On January 14, 2012 I included a comment about gas prices going to $5 per gallon this year and how that was going to very bad for President Obama's re-election chances. Well, it seems that the Democrats are ahead of the curve on this one, see the story below.

Six House Democrats, led by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), want to set up a "Reasonable Profits Board" to control gas profits.
The Democrats, worried about higher gas prices, want to set up a board that would apply a "windfall profit tax" as high as 100 percent on the sale of oil and gas, according to their legislation. The bill provides no specific guidance for how the board would determine what constitutes a reasonable profit.
The Gas Price Spike Act, H.R. 3784, would apply a windfall tax on the sale of oil and gas that ranges from 50 percent to 100 percent on all surplus earnings exceeding "a reasonable profit." It would set up a Reasonable Profits Board made up of three presidential nominees that will serve three-year terms. Unlike other bills setting up advisory boards, the Reasonable Profits Board would not be made up of any nominees from Congress.
The bill would also seem to exclude industry representatives from the board, as it says members "shall have no financial interests in any of the businesses for which reasonable profits are determined by the Board."
According to the bill, a windfall tax of 50 percent would be applied when the sale of oil or gas leads to a profit of between 100 percent and 102 percent of a reasonable profit. The windfall tax would jump to 75 percent when the profit is between 102 and 105 percent of a reasonable profit, and above that, the windfall tax would be 100 percent. The bill also specifies that the oil-and-gas companies, as the seller, would have to pay this tax.
Kucinich said these tax revenues would be used to fund alternative transportation programs when oil-and-gas prices spike.
"Gas prices continue to rise, creating a hardship for the American people," he said. "At the same time, oil companies are making record profits gouging their customers. This bill would tax only the excess profits and create forward-thinking transportation alternatives."
Specifically, he said the money would be used to fund a tax credit on the purchase of fuel-efficient cars and set up a grant program for mass transit programs when oil-and-gas prices are high.
The bill does not estimate the size of these grants or the amount of money that might be collected through the tax.
Co-sponsoring the bill are five other Democrats: Reps. John Conyers Jr. (Mich.), Bob Filner (Calif.), Marcia Fudge (Ohio), Jim Langevin (R.I.), and Lynn Woolsey (Calif.).

Note: Definition per the Act: REASONABLE PROFIT. - The term "reasonable profit" means the amount determined by the Reasonable Profits Board to be a reasonable profit on the sale. Can you just imagine what this law would do to gas supply in the United States? There probably would not be any sales for the Reasonable Profits Board to use in determining what a reasonable profit was. What other products/services will then fall under the purview of the Reasonable Profits Board?

21 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

We went for a 2 mile walk this morning with a stop at Marcels's for breakfast, that is I had breakfast and Patches sat outside and waited for me. She did very well in her waiting, only barked at one old couple that came by close to her on walking sticks which may have set her off. Even then she just barked 3-4 times and then shut up.

I have been working with her in the morning to be quiet when I leave her for 15-30 minutes and have had mixed success. I can leave during the day after our walk and that does not seem to disturb her but my leaving early in the morning gives her cause to bark. Go figure?

On the way home from breakfast I thought I saw Boonie go past me and turn into my RV Park with his trailer. Soon her pulled out again and went to the Park next door. He had talked about needing to find a dump site yesterday so I guessed that was him and what he was doing. I found him involved in that very act, dumping, and visited with him for just a few minutes.

Late yesterday afternoon I had a package delivered. This was a two step stool that I ordered a little over a week ago when it become difficult for me to get up into my cab over bed. Patches was thrilled to get her couch bed back and I had a much better night also, the couch is about a foot too short for me to be comfortable.

I got up this morning the least stiff and hurting that I can remember for some time. Still not good but better so maybe there is hope. I took my first ibuprofen at 2:30 this morning so I'm back on another 10 days of treatment with that for the inflammation. I sure hope it works this cycle.

22 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

No walk today although the tendons at the back of my knees feel better I want to see if a rest day makes any difference now that I'm back on ibuprofen. Patches was not very happy with this decision but appears to have been placated by a short walk to the Food Mart for me to pick up breakfast.

I'm not sure that dogs have the same concept of time and distance that we do. So, a very short walk may be just as fulfilling for them as a longer one, who knows? The more important consideration for Patches is that she gets to go with ME for a WALK.

Payed for another month here at Ajo Heights RV Park. I'll be here now until February 22nd and will then be moving slowly north toward Pahrump. Don't have my VA appointment dates yet but hope to get them for early April. After they are finished with me and the local vet with Patches we will continue on north; chasing spring rather than leading it if possible.

It was foggy/hazy early this morning. A lot of moisture in the air which is uncommon in this desert environment. It did not last long and the day warmed up quickly today. I had the windows open before noon to another great weather day.

It is not all bad news for President Obama. He has lost some of his Apostles from Campaign 2008 but not all of them, he still has Oprah. This is from The Associated Press which goes to the ends of the Earth to find something positive to say about the President.

Oprah Winfrey says she is confident that President Barack Obama will win another four-year term in this year's U.S. election.
The talk show host was addressing a literary festival Sunday in the northwestern Indian town of Jaipur.
Winfrey praised Obama's handling of the presidency. She said his next four years would be even more successful, with people able to get back to work.
Winfrey backed Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign in her first-ever political endorsement.

23 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

Today was 'encounters of the third kind' for Patches, well actually it was three encounters of about the same kind for her.

We went for a walk/run to the east again and the first encounter was another person also walking his Siberian Husky, or look alike, off leash. Patches made a made rush at the dog but there was no confrontation just a running, bumping match until I called her back.

She made me proud when she broke off contact with the other dog and came back to me as the other fellow and myself were making our apologies (which were not necessary because the dogs never got into anything approaching a fight). I then looked down and Patches was sniffing a little spike haired 'rat dog' that the guy also had with him.

Patches does not like such dog just on sight but here she was getting along with this one like they were old friends. I don't know what it is about her when she is on leash and sees another dog, maybe it is all about rushing up to them to see who/what they are that causes her to be so reactive. She does just fine when off leash.

Near our turn around point I saw a coyote about 75' to my left front and called for Patches. She was maybe 100' from the coyote and must have seen it but did nothing. The coyote then saw her and wanting no part of her trotted off another few 100' looking back at us all the time. My yelling at him did nothing to speed up his departure, he knows about people and dogs and was more worried about Patches than he was of me.

On our return, near the point of the first encounter Patches came upon a fellow riding his mountain bike and she decided that she did not like the looks of the combination so she barked at him 3-4 times. He stopped and I had her stop barking with just one command, surprised me.

He was scared and wanted to know if she would bite. I assured him that she would not and then as he rode away Patches would run past him a few yards turn and run back to me. Then do it again. I know this was not doing anything for the poor riders peace of mind but Patches thought it was great fun.

Overall she handled the encounters very well. I was pleased that she responded to my commands as well as she did, particularly leaving the first dog that she encountered off leash. She is a pretty GOOD GIRL!

That was the excitement for the day. I have been reading blogs and Internet News. Patches has been crashed on the couch.

The following is an essay by Michael Goodwin a New York Post columnist and contributor to FoxNews Online.

By rejecting the Keystone XL oil pipeline, President Obama did more than just pander to environmentalists. He shredded attempts by his handlers to cast him as a pragmatic and reasonable man who can appeal to independent voters.
Instead, he stands naked as an ideologue willing to sacrifice workers on the altar of special-interest politics.
Thousands of jobs were cast aside with no more thought than yesterday's socks. Demolished, too, is the promised commitment to energy independence.
The $7 billion pipeline would carry Canadian oil to Gulf Coast ports. Despite three years of study by the State Department, Obama tried to put off the decision until after the election.
But Canada offered to change the route to avoid an aquifer in Nebraska, and unions demanded to know whether he would approve a permit, so Republicans put a 60-day deadline in December's payroll-tax legislation.
Now we have undeniable proof of the president's priorities. The man who insisted that "making sure jobs are available is the first thing I think about when I wake up every morning"was just reading empty words from a TelePrompter.
Obama didn't even have the decency to explain himself, sending out a lame statement that hinted he wasn't making a decision on the merits, only reacting to the deadline.
The suggestion that he might ultimately approve the project is a shameless bid to deny the obvious. He made his choice because that's who he is.
Meanwhile, Canada, saying it is "profoundly disappointed,"is turning to Plan B. It likely will build a pipeline to its West Coast and sell the oil to China.

24 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

When we got up this morning it was cold, that is below 40° by my newly established standards, with the wind blowing to make it feel even colder. No walk today, cold is as good as excuse as I need.

However, when it came time for our usual morning walk Patches was all set to go for it. I seemed to satisfy that desire by taking her with me when I went across the street to get coffee and a burrito for breakfast at the Food Mart.

As I said before the time and distance of the walk doesn't seem to matter to her. Just getting to GO is the important thing to her. She has lounged around the rest of the day as if she went for another run.

She was frisky yesterday afternoon when I got up into my cab over bed for a nap however. She can stand up on the couch with her paws on the edge of my cab over bed and look me in the eye or give me a wake up slurp if I'm close to the edge. Well, yesterday she decided to jump up into the cab with me and clawed my arm pretty bad before falling back down in the coach.

Took off a bunch of skin, lots of blood. I got it cleaned up and a big bandage on it so I think I'll be fine. I just need to be very firm with her about trying to come up into the cab bed when I'm there. Love can be hurtful sometimes!

25 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

Just another day of beautiful weather. I think the low was back above 40° and the high will be in the mid-60. Clear blue sky and no winds. My kind of day.

Patches was insistent on going for a walk this morning. She also has a very stubborn streak that refuses to acknowledge the word NO. So we did a 2 miles walk with backpack and a stop at Marcela's for breakfast.

She was very good about waiting until someone walked by on the street sidewalk. This she did not like and started to bark at them. Then to make sure I was paying attention she turned to the window where I was watching her and barked at ME. I don't know what goes through her head most of the time!

The tendons behind my right knee are much better. They were the first to cause me a lot of pain, now the left knee tendons are the worse. They started to bother me after the right so there is hope that they are healing also. My shoulders continue to be just a bad as they have been for over a month now and the hip to leg joint is very sore. I could not tell about it until I got rid of the pain in the ligaments and tendons in that area.

I did not watch, nor listen to the President's State of the Union, but everything that I have read today indicates it was simply a Campaign Speech for TV; he did not care what Congress thought.

26 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

It was another no walk day for Patches and I. Although we did go across the street to Food Mart to pick up breakfast.

Patches was not going for that placebo today. She still wanted to go for a walk when we got back. I can fool her some of the time but not all the time.

There was a LOT of blog postings yesterday, on 3-4 different blogs, about how Boonie and I snubbed RVSue. The story being that we drove up to where she is camped and waved but then turned around and left. Boonie and I have both left replies that this story is NOT true.

I got an email from Boonie about going to visit her and replied that anytime was good. He stopped by to visit for a few minutes while on a bike ride with Coffee Girl and we agreed to go see her tomorrow but then he sent me an email to cancel. He stopped to see her and do some fence mending because of a critical comment that he left on her blog, but that is a whole different issue. She may stop and see me when she comes to town.

While showering today, I took the bandage off my arm where Patches clawed me to see what the damages were. The area where she tore the skin doesn't look too bad, there is a huge bruise area around that. I bruise VERY easily so that was no surprise. All in all not too bad. She is sorry!

The high temperature is back in the low to mid-70s once again. Some more perfect winter weather. I can not say too many times how glad I am that I came to Ajo at this time.

Remember: Don't make old people mad. We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off.

Case in point:

Police say a 65-year-old man attacked by three teenagers in Pennsylvania shot two of them, killing one, after they knocked him off his bike and assaulted him in an alleged robbery attempt.
Police say on Wednesday the man was riding on a trail in Reading, about 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia, when the teens pushed him off the bicycle and two assaulted him, reports the Reading Eagle.
The man reportedly took out a handgun and shot the attackers.

27 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

Read Will Rogers column 88 years ago: January 27, 1924

Patches was thrilled to go to the desert east of the Park again this morning although she didn't have any more encounters. Just happily running, sniffing and marking her territory. It doesn't take much to make her happy.

Once I'm up and moving the tendon pain behind the knees is much better but I do have trouble getting up. The longer I sit the worse it is, or first thing in the morning when I get up is a struggle.

Now that I have reduced the pain from the inflamed tendons/ligaments I can feel the constant lesser pain in the hip joints. Not as bad as in my shoulders but I now know it is there. I'm also developing joint paint in both thumbs, the left one started a few days ago and the right joined in yesterday.

Doing nothing but the usual blog reading, Internet News reading and occassionaly the novel that I'm slowly working on. Not quite finished preparing the weekly articles by Will Rogers for February, but soon.

Another one of President Obama's "green investments"filed for bankruptcy and we the taxpaying investors have lost another $118.5 Million. There will be more of this to come; it is kind of like the gift that keeps on giving but in reverse. We the taxpayers will be taking losses from President Obama's investments long after he has left office, be that in 2013 or 2017.

Ener1--a company that manufactures batteries for electric cars, and that received $118.5 million in federal stimulus money, and that Vice President Joe Biden visited last year the day after President Obama's State of the Union Address—announced today that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
In last year' State of the Union, delivered Jan. 25, 2011, President Obama set a national goal of having a million electric vehicles on the road in the United States by 2015—a goal that would be achieved, Obama said, by taking money out of the oil industry and "investing"it in new technology.

Then here is a perfect example of the Lame Stream Media doing its best to determine who, and who will not, be on the Republican ticket to run against President Obama in the 2012 election. They want Obama to be re-elected but just in case the people of this country are to stupid to do so they want to make sure that the Republican candidates conform to upholding the Status Quo. Rubio does fit that mold.

Reuters has now issued five corrections in today's article -- or "hit piece" -- on why Florida senator Marco Rubio is an unlikely candidate for Vice President:
(Removes words "and at times has had difficulty paying his mortgage," paragraph 7; removes "he did not make payments on a $100,000-plus student loan" and instead states "he did not pay down the balance of a $100,000-plus student loan," paragraph 10; removes "he was caught up in an Internal Revenue Service Investigation" and instead states "his name surfaced in an Internal Revenue Service investigation," paragraph 12; removes "voted against Sonia Sotomayor, Obama's Supreme Court nominee" and instead states "opposed President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor," paragraph 41; removes "voted against Obama's healthcare overhaul" and instead states "opposed Obama's healthcare overhaul," paragraph 41)

28 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

Patches was hyper to go out and run again today but it was cold and felt even colder because of the wind. I did take her with me to the Food Mart to pick up breakfast but that was just not the same as a run.

Continued to be windy and cold even when I went to Olsen's to pick up groceries for the week. Got a 20 pound bag of dog food for Patches also although she has probably a week or more left from the last bag.

Cooked up some tacos for lunch from the spoils that I picked up this morning. Have been hoping to find ice cream on sale one of these shopping trips but have not lucked out yet; the regular price is over $6 for a 1/2 gallon. I like my ice cream but not at that price.

How times do change. This was a question put to President Obama at his October 6, 2011 Press Conference, delivered in as softball a fashion as possible by the Lame Stream Media.

But your administration hasn't really been very aggressive in prosecuting. In fact, I don't think any Wall Street executives have gone to jail despite the rampant corruption and malfeasance that did take place. So I was wondering if you'd comment on that.

This was his answer.

Well, first, on the issue of - on the issue of prosecutions on Wall Street, one of the biggest problems about the collapse of Lehman's and the subsequent financial crisis and the whole subprime lending fiasco is that a lot of that stuff wasn't necessarily illegal, it was just immoral or inappropriate or reckless. That's exactly why we needed to pass Dodd-Frank, to prohibit some of these practices.

We then fast forward to Obama's State of the Union Campaign Speech on January 24, 2012 where he said:

He was having the Department of Justice create a special unit federal prosecutors and state attorneys general to expand investigations "into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis."
"This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans," Obama said.

Why the sudden change of heart? The State of the Union Address was written by Re-election Campaign writers that know they have to put this issue on the self until after the elections. Obama could not possible campaign on the answer given back in October, that would be sure fire loosing position.

29 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

Nothing special about this morning. Maybe a little warmer than the past few days and no wind which is always nice.

Patch and I left on our walk a little after 7:00 which was only two miles with a stop at Marcela's for breakfast. My usual table was taken, the one near where I tie Patches, but the fellow that was at it kept a good eye on her. When he left he said "you have a really good dog there, they get a bad rap that they don't deserve". We then chatted for a minute or two about where I got her and how I have been trying to make her into an obedient dog that lives down her undeserved reputation.

Just yesterday I received a reply to my email requesting information from a RV Park in Wickenburg, AZ that said pit bulls or dogs "resembling pit bulls" were not welcome. I sent back a reply that I would not be staying with them because my American Staffordshire does resemble a pit bull. If they ever decided to not discriminate against dogs based on breed I would re-consider.

Have spent time researching where I might go from here now that Wickenburg is not in the picture. It might still be a little cold the first week or two but have tried another Park near Kingman, AZ. Will see what they have to say.

I knew that this was going to be a possible bad side effect to having Patches but I'll just deal with it like everything else in life. It does make me think more about getting a solar system so I'm not reliant on Parks. Doing some more planning for that, if only in my mind.

Had a nice visit with Boonie who bicycled to town to pick up a few light items from Olsen's. While he was in the area he stopped by for a chat. It is good to have a social session with like minded people from time to time and I find Boonie to fit that description.

Lat week I posted a quote by Allen West a Republican Representative from FL about the marine urinating scandal. Well he is back in the News with these comments during a speech at a Palm Beach County GOP event in West Palm Beach.

The Lame Stream Media would have been screaming that he was racist by now except for one thing; HE is Black/African-American/Negro. I am sure they will try to discredit and marginalize him but the race card will not be played, that only works against White enemies.

"This is a battlefield that we must stand upon and we need to let president Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and my dear friend, the chairman of the Democrat National Committee, we need to let them know that Florida is not on the table. Take your message of equality of achievement, take your message of economic dependency, and take your message of enslaving the entrepreneurial will and spirit of the American people somewhere else. You can take it to Europe, you can take it to the bottom of the sea, you can take it to the North Pole, but get the hell out of the United States of America."

30 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

This was another day for doing nothing or at least not doing any walk. Patches was not very happy with the walk to the Food Mart to pick up breakfast. She will be a handful tomorrow morning and will not take NO for and answer I'm sure.

I did spend more time than necessary sending my VA-PA and update on my aches and pains. The VA web site was not working very well this morning so it took 2-3 times as long to get that done. I also ordered refills for my prescriptions and had the same problem with the site. Usually it is very good.

I haven't heard from the RV Park in Kingman yet. The temperatures are going to be even colder in Pahrump in late February and March but because of my ongoing self diagnosed arthritic pain I may face that and get and early appointment with the VA. I'll think on it!

Can not complain about the cold here, well not much anyway. We are having another very nice day with windows open by noon and expect the high to be back in the low 70s again.

The President is on the 2012 Campaign Trail talking about his success in bailing out the auto industry. It may have been a success for him but like his 'green investments' we the taxpayers get stuck with the losses. I told you that I thought my moving to Ally Bank was a move to the strongest bank in the country, this article excerpt tells why.

The U.S. Treasury Department boosted its estimate of government losses in the $85 billion auto bailout by $170 million. In the government's latest report to Congress this month, the Treasury upped its estimate to $23.77 billion, up from $23.6 billion...
As part of its $17.2 billion bailout, the Treasury still holds a 74 percent majority stake in Ally Financial Inc., the Detroit-based auto lender and bank holding company.

31 January
Ajo Heights RV Park
Ajo, AZ

Patches and I went for a run/walk in the desert to the east. Nothing different about this morning until we were almost back to the point where I would re-leash her.

She went over a small hill an into an old drive in movie area that is used a lot by RVers in the two nearby Parks to walk their dogs. This morning she ran into two full sized Poodles that were off leash.

I did not see the meeting but when I saw her and the other dogs I called and she returned to me immediately. I asked the Poodle owner if she has barked or growled when she came upon his dog and he said she had not. Good Dog!

She does not let small wounds bother her much and they certainly do not slow her down. It was not until I got her home that I saw some cholla spines sticking out of the end of her nose. They required a good pull to get them out so I know they had to be hurting her but she paid them little heed. I then later found an inch cut along the back side of a front leg that had bleed some, which was what I first saw. Again she has not paid much attention to it at all, not the usual licking that you would expect. A Tough Girl!

I finished my second 10 days of taking ibuprofen last night and started on acetaminophen which does nothing for the inflammation and does not seem as good a pain reliever for me. I'm in better shape than after the first 10 days of ibuprofen but still have trouble getting up and moving after sitting for a while. I'm not the stoic that Patches is!

The excerpt below is illustrative of what is going on along the border between Arizona and Mexico. I want you to particularly note that this woman graduated from Kofa High School which puts paid to the argument about the quality of education in our school system. It should also be no surprise that high school graduates can no longer get a job; they lack the education to hold a job.

A woman who was barred from running for a city council seat in Arizona because she doesn't speak English proficiently has appealed the judge's ruling to the state's highest court.
The case has brought national and international attention to the southern Arizona border city of San Luis after Mayor Juan Carlos Escamilla filed a court action asking for a determination on whether Alejandrina Cabrera has the English skills necessary to serve a four-year term on the council. State law requires elected officials to know English, but Cabrera's attorneys claim the law doesn't define proficiency in the language.
Yuma County Superior Court Judge John Nelson ruled last week that Cabrera's name be stricken from the March ballot for San Luis City Council. Nelson's ruling was based on tests administered by a sociolinguistics expert, as well as her inability to respond to questions posed to her in English at last week's hearing in Yuma.
Sociolinguistics expert William Eggington presented the court with results of three different tests he administered to Cabrera, who graduated from Kofa High School in Yuma. One measured her English-speaking skill, another was to determine if she reads the language, and the third was to assess her level of English comprehension. Eggington's report said Cabrera's English skills did not meet the level of language proficiency needed to serve on the council.

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