Peregrinating
2015

February

1 February
Hickiwan Trails RV Park
Why, AZ

We only did another short potty walk yesterday afternoon. It was raining lightly when we went out but looked like it was going to dump on us at any time. Within 10 minutes of our getting back inside it did just that, rained hard for 15-30 minutes. The lake had sunk in but was filled back up by this later day downpour.

We received an official 0.19" of rain yesterday. Not a lot but enough for my roof leak to get a second towel wet. The first one, from two days ago, is still sopping wet. The one from yesterday not as bad. We have sun once again today with the forecast of more to come; highs in the 70s and maybe 80 next Sunday & Monday. Nothing but clear sky and zero chance of rain in the 10 Day Forecast.

I had a bird, unidentified, land in the tree right next to Desperado this morning. Nothing unusual about that. What was unusual was the bird was obsessed with trying to fly thru my closed window. Repeatedly flew into the glass, back to the tree, into the window. I have no idea what caused the behavior but it only stopped when I opened the door and drove the bird away.

I did a lot of my usual daily routine and also started the Will Rogers weekly article link preparation which is a monthly routine. Copied the text to the Will Rogers page that is at Hub with the intent of having them hosting in a few days. The editing at Hub was slightly different than it has been at Yahoo! but not so much that it was a problem. Did not get everything done but did enough to see that it is going to work as well as it has in the past.

I have also built 2-3 more API maps to replace map picture .gifs for Bicycle Trip #3. These were done at Hub also rather than at Yahoo! and then have to transfer them. The only thing I'll need to transfer on the day that I switch will be the daily postings for February from today until the day I switch. Right now my thinking is that day will be Wednesday 4 February.

At the House Democratic Caucus retreat in Philadelphia on 30 January 2015 President Obama said "What we know is that middle-class economics works". He rolled out middle class economics in his State of the Union speech and defined it as ".. the idea that this country does best when everyone gets their fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. We don't just want everyone to share in America's success - we want everyone to contribute to our success." Can anyone tell me how 'we' know that what he described has worked during the past six years?

The man simply lets his mouth run on and on saying words, words and more words with little or no meaning to them. Then the Ministry of Propaganda repeat them endlessly as did the sheep "Four legs good, two legs bad". The difference being that the sheep were saying something that had meaning. Former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel speaking of the 2014 election said "Democrats failed to show that their economic policies would directly benefit working-class families". Does that sound like 'we' know that middle-class economics works? It may explain why he is the 'former' chair of the DCCC.

2 February
Hickiwan Trails RV Park
Why, AZ

Patches let me oversleep by a few minutes so we did a medium length potty walk versus the long potty walk I had intended. No long walk was planned because I had a breakfast meet arranged at Marcella's. I arrived almost right at the 7:30 that I had planned and Mickey of Wandering Spirit arrived right at the 7:45 that she planned.

We had a very good hour long conversation while having breakfast. I had the Huevos con Chorizo with hash browns which I think is my recommended breakfast for Marcella's. I cautioned Mickey about the home fries not being very good and she avoided them.

She is a newbie, of about 6 months, to the Fulltime lifestyle. Also a newbie to the blogging world but is doing fine with both of them. I met Joy and Shiloh, her two Golden Retrievers when we left and she met Patches. Her two dogs are much more mellow than my excitable girl when they meet a new person. Patches did settle down enough that I could show off what Mickey described as my "mansion" since she lives in such a tiny trailer with her two big dogs. A little socializing on my part, which I don't do much of, and it was good to meet another Fulltimer/Blogger.

The shopping trip to Olsen's was slightly disappointing. No Roma tomatoes to be had. No whole white mushrooms. I was able to get substitutes at a higher price but not what I wanted. I know Tuesday is stocking shelves day but did not expect the shelves to be going bare by Monday. It is what it is however so I live with it.

I put some of what I bought in a pot soon after getting back to the Park and set up - Yay! I had a pull-thru. First was 32 oz of Chicken broth and a cup of barley, when that was almost tender I added 3/4 pound of tiny shrimp, a pound of green peas, a couple bunches of diced green onion and 8 oz of clam juice. Brought that back to a boil for a few minutes and into the Thermal Cooker until 'liner' time. This is my attempt to make what I'll call Barley Risotto with Shrimp; almost the same as an online recipe.

I'm suggesting some political party name changes which I think would provide more meaningful descriptions of political beliefs. The Republican Party should change their name to Democrat because that's the policies that most of the Establishment Republicans now favor. The Democratic Party would similarly change their name and we would then have the Democratic Socialist Party and the Democrat Party. The Republican Party name would then be used by the Tea Party because they are the ones that retain the Grand Old Party principles. Nothing else need change but we would be using proper terminology.

3 February
Hickiwan Trails RV Park
Why, AZ

I had a new neighbor sneak up behind me yesterday and turn my pull-thru site into a back-in once more. I didn't hear him park, but when going out for our afternoon walk, saw that he had only hooked up electric and water. He had not unhitch his bumper pull trailer from the tow vehicle nor put down stabilizers. That told me that he was there only for the night and he was gone by 10:30 this morning.

I had a pull-thru site again for mere minutes! Another trailer pulled into the space just to the west of directly behind me that once again made mine a back-in space. I could still pull-thru but would be doings so by driving thru their yard and I will not do that although others might - and do.

On 31 January I said "The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index tells us that Americans are the happiest (have the highest sentiment) since 2004. Where do they find these people?" As a follow up to that comment I offer these snippets from recent News.

"Consumer confidence rebounded modestly [92.6 from 91.0] in December, propelled by a considerably more favorable assessment of current economic and labor market conditions," says Lynn Franco, the Conference Board's director of economic indicators. The U.S. Census Bureau announced on 14 January 2015 that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for December, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were a decrease of 0.9 percent. All reports show wages are barely keeping up with inflation. Riddle me this Batman, where do they find these people that have wage increases not equal to inflation, are spending less and have higher consumer confidence?

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has started to make his presence known nationally and is garnering a lot of conservative support. That could be the Kiss of Death to any presidential aspirations because the Ministry of Propaganda have already broke out their long knives. He will also have the Establishment Republicans doing everything they can to block his nomination in the presidential primaries.

This book was selected because of its thickness. If I had known that it was classed as Romantic Suspense I may not have done so. It was long on Romance and short on Suspense which accounts for most of the women reviews awarding it 5 stars and glowing comments. I have copied from two of the reviews that did not have such opinions and are closer to what mine was. I can not recommend this book/author to male readers and if I can remember I will not pick up another of hers.

Woman reviewer that gave it one star:
Stevie Mazzetti has been targeted by crooked cops ever since vowing to bring down those involved in the crimes of her ex-partner. Since so many people are gunning for her, an enemy from eight years ago - Todd Robinette - decides this would be the perfect time to execute his own plans for revenge. But he didn't count on the protection provided to Stevie by Clay Maynard, the private eye who is in love with her.
All of Karen Rose's books have the same problem - they are too melodramatic, and overlong by about 200 pages. But most of them have a solid, intriguing plot to make up for this. She really hit her stride with "Silent Scream, "You Belong To Me" and "No One Left To Tell", all very good romantic suspense thrillers. The first signs of weakening were with "Did You Miss Me?", but she really hits rock bottom with this stinker. There is no plot here! None! Certainly not enough to justify the very long length. About the only plot twist we get involves the gender of one of the characters. Otherwise, this is completely devoid of any surprises. We know from the get-go who the villian is. We know their flimsy motive. We know they were more than likely behind the murder of Stevie's family eight years ago.
There are a lot of unanswered questions. Why does Robinette waste so much time in sending his lackeys out after Stevie? He obviously never heard the phrase "too many cooks spoil the broth". Why is Clay so dedicated to having Stevie in his life? She's more than a bit of a pain. About 65% of the novel is taken up with the arguments they have with each other. Yes, this is a romantic suspense novel, but shouldn't there also be a bit of suspense? None to be found here. I never once felt that ANY of the characters were in any danger. The only fatalities are characters we don't learn anything about. This is obviously because Rose wants to bring back any character with a hint of romance in a later book.
Male reviewer that gave it one star:
One of the most poorly written books I've read in a while. I always read an entire book even when it's terribly written- as this one was- but it was difficult task. I'll never start another one of hers again. However if you crave cardboard characters, stupid plot lines, hackneyed dialog, etc---go for it. - Amazon Customer Reviews

4 February
Hickiwan Trails RV Park
Why, AZ

I did the Domain Nameserver change yesterday afternoon soon after returning from our walk. Added a notice to the Home page on both host servers that opens when you enter the web address edwardfrey.com. This was to give me confirmation of which host server was responding when I tested to see if the new host was hosting.

Both Hub and Yahoo! Hosting said that it would take from 4 to 24 hours for the Nameserver change to propagate throughout all of the Internet. So there may be readers that attempt to read my posting today and it will not show up. There is also the chance that no one will be able to read the posting today.

Wahoo! From everything I have looked at so far it seems that the web site domain move has happened. It is going to take me a few days/weeks to get into the routine of using Hub but I am happy that all my work of the past few months has ended up working as well as it has. The Robots/Spiders found me and did their thing. One of them was Googlebot which captures page information that Google uses in its Search. Maybe I'll have better luck finding 'stuff' I'm looking for on my web site?

I was somewhat concerned that the links from the maps in the left column would not work from the new host and did not know how to test them until the move had been made. The good news is they seem to work but are slower to open than when at Yahoo! Hosting. I am hoping it is just an issue with the 'propagation' of my Nameserver and that it will get better. Not a lot of people ever use the links, other than myself, so it is not much of an issue.

I traded the Rose book yesterday afternoon for one that is probably not much better. My choices were very limited so what I got was based on volume once again which is only fair. What I gave in trade was not much so I can't expect too much in return.

The trailer that was behind me and slightly to the west left this morning. I'm back to having a pull-thu space and with only the one close neighbor to my southeast. They have been very quiet, gone about half the time visiting the sights around Ajo/Why/Organ pipe National Monument.

5 February
Hickiwan Trails RV Park
Why, AZ

I drew a crowd yesterday afternoon. Another 5th Wheel in the space to my southwest but they are not blocking my pull-thru. The previous tenants were using the space behind me to park their tow vehicle this one is keeping theirs on the space they have payed for. I also got a new Roadtrek neighbor on my east side at noon today. They probably will not be staying for long and I had no view on that side anyway so not a biggie.

The other neighbor was right next to me on the west side in a big Class A that blocked my view in that direction, even big enough to cut off some of the northwest view. Has the air horns on the roof along with a Hughs Dish for TV and/or Internet plus a small array of solar panels. They may be only short term, the southwest neighbor appears to be here for awhile.

It was not all bad news about neighbors however. This morning the one that had been my closest one to the southeast left at 8:30. That opened up a view for me in that direction which is more important than the northwest one because that is the direction that I'm facing when in my chair. I need to get up to enjoy the northwest one which I now can do because the big Class A pulled out at 11:00. HA

I didn't feel like doing our usual 2 miles walk this morning. Therefore, Patches got a long potty walk and she seemed to be happy with that. The feeling was more mental than physical; no aches and pains to speak of just mentally tired.

The article Thomas Sowell Versus Barack Obama at Monty Pelerin's World is perhaps incorrectly titled. He doesn't write about Sowell in conflict with Obama rather he contrasts the world view of the two men. He then added an article by Sowell Obama Versus America that does speak of President Obama's conflict with America. Good articles and I did like this description of President Obama's views.

President Obama sees individuals very differently. Most are viewed as too helpless to succeed. His world is divided into the elite and the rabble. As a politician, he pretends to defend the rabble as the means to elected office. Individuals and individualism are barely tolerated in this world-view. Little people are considered too dumb to fend for themselves. An anointed class must care for the benighted. The rabble must be led and controlled by the elite. Obama is among the elite, arguably the supreme member of that class in his own mind.

6 February
Hickiwan Trails RV Park
Why, AZ

We went thru a gate on the south side of AZ86 yesterday afternoon and followed a fence south that I think marks the boundary of the Tohono O'odham Reservation (I knew them to be Papago but they prefer this name). Found a survey benchmark that I need to go back to and copy down all the information from the disc. I remembered some of the details but not all and could not find it listed at Geocaching Benchmark Hunting.

We did another long potty walk this morning because I wanted the extra time for chores. I'm not doing them all today but I'm thinking about doing them and getting a running start. That means I did laundry today. Something that I could have put off for a few more days or even until at my new camp. I thought it best to do it here where I knew that the washers and dryers worked and thought it best to do it today rather than later when I have other chores to do. Too many chore in one day is not something I want. HA

I did some more work on Will Rogers weekly articles yesterday afternoon and might get more done today with a goal of finishing them before I leave here next week. I also built a few more API map replacements for Bike Trip 3 that has no due date in my mind, just build some of them as the mood strikes me.

President Obama hailed the Dalai Lama and condemned the Islam State in his remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast on 5 February 2014. But, he also condemned Christianity by reaching into ancient history to equate the West, and particularly the United States, as being just as bad as the Islam State. Why was that necessary at such a venue? What did he think he accomplished by making this statement to a predominantly Christian gathering? He professes to be a Christian yet he insults that faith at every opportunity, this is only his latest slap in the face and perhaps his most egregious.

We have seen violence and terror perpetrated by those who profess to stand up for faith, their faith. Professed to stand up for Islam, but in fact are betraying it. Humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history. And lest we get on our high horse and think this is (pause) unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow, all too often was justified in the name of Christ.

7 February
Hickiwan Trails RV Park
Why, AZ

Another shorter walk this morning. Lazy and had more chores so I justified the shorter walk because I was going to do them. Well, maybe not them. Only dump the holding tanks and add fresh water. Like the laundry, I could have waited to do this until I was at my new camp but I don't like to travel with nearly full holding tanks. I also did not want to put it off for another day or two and then have it and other chores to do all on the same day. I'm easing into this doing chores thing.

My other accomplishment was completing the Will Rogers weekly article links. I'll now start reading from my Monthly blog list. Not a Daily routine but a Monthly routine that I did not fall behind on while doing the web site hosting move. Sometimes I surprise myself.

The Bureau of Labor released their non-farm job numbers for January yesterday that showed an increase of 257,000 jobs. The Ministry of Propaganda has remained relatively silent since the Brian Williams story has not yet cycled and there was an increase in the Unemployment Rate which does not fit the economy matrix that they have been spinning.

The CES Birth/Death Model adjustment in January is usually a large decrease with it being a negative 275,000 this year which is less than in 2014 and the smallest decrease since 2007.

If you look at the Household Data for January the number of Employed increased by 759,000 which is huge and the eighth consecutive monthly increase which does indicate a strengthening job market. But, there was also a 291,000 increase in Unemployed and a decrease of 354,000 in the Not in the Labor Force. This large decrease in the Not in the Labor Force combined with the increase in Unemployed brought the Unemployment Rate up to the 5.7% that the Media and the Federal Reserve don't want to talk about.

That decrease in the Not in the the Labor Force was enough to change the Participation Rate to 62.9% which is better but still very poor. The 92,544,000 Not in the Labor Force is down from the all time record in December but still very high.

The average earnings increased by 18¢ to $24.75 an hour (a huge increase compared to past months), while the average workweek remained at 34.6 hours. I think the Federal Reserve wants to see wage inflation to give them cover for their decision to increase rates. The big increase in November was more than the Fed wanted in 2014 so it was been scaled back and now added to 2015. There will be more increases leading up to the interest rate increases by mid-year.

Two followups to the comments I posted yesterday about President Obama's remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast. First, I have copied two paragraphs from The Depravity of Obama's Prayer Breakfast Remarks by George Rasley at ConservativeHQ.com.

Commentators who debate Obama's reading of history are missing the most important point in his remarks - in finding moral equivalence between the Crusades, American slavery and the savagery of today's radical Islamist terrorists Obama has completely rejected the American legal and moral concept of individual responsibility.
And in rejecting the moral concept of individual responsibility Obama has accepted the depraved concept that any individual or group who believes themselves aggrieved by some historical wrong is entitled to blood recompense and is justified in waging an endless religious or race war to obtain it.

In the wake of the professionally done video chronicling a caged Jordanian pilot being set on fire, that nation's King Abdullah II promised a Clint Eastwood, "Unforgiven" type response...Within 24 hours Abdullah began delivering. Two terrorists were hung. Then dozens of his fighter jets struck ISIS training centers and weapons/ammo storage sites (that we apparently couldn't find) in Syria and Iraq...Meanwhile Barack's biggest battle seems to be against those who'd use the term Islamic Extremism, and Christians who fought in the Crusades. Thursday, while Abdullah was occupied dropping bombs on modern day, soulless jihadi, Obama was busy carpet bombing Christianity at a prayer breakfast.

8 February
Hickiwan Trails RV Park
Why, AZ

I got another Class A neighbor on my west side late the day before yesterday. They have set up a big pen that covers their patio slab plus some where their Sheltie (tiny Lassie) and a Papillon can be outside. Patches doe not like that much and the Sheltie has a barking problem which means Patches has a barking problem - just not as bad. The wife stopped by yesterday afternoon and apologized for her Sheltie's behavior and I can see that she does try. They are not VERY bad, I can live with them.

After our walk this morning I went to Ganny's Café for my last breakfast there this trip. The Huevos con Chorizo is the Mexican breakfast to order there as well as at Marcella's but I was disappointed with their home fries this morning. It may be best to stick with hash browns at both restaurants.

On the way from there to Olsen's I meet four groups of bicyclist that probably totaled close to 100 riders, with at least 5 support vehicles. Many of the riders were wearing the same jersey so I am guessing they were a club, probably out of Tucson. I did a Search for rides out of Tucson or Ajo on 8 February but could not find anything.

I was not happy with the Cowboy Stew that I made a couple of weeks ago. The beef stew meat was the toughest that I have sunk a tooth into in a long time and the Barbeque Beans were tasty but not to my liking. Today I picked up some boneless Country Style Ribs that I chunked up into stew meat and browned off, added that to some boiled white potatoes and topped it all off with three small cans of Ranch Style pinto beans with jalapeño. The other batch of stew was a little too dry so I added a can of broth to this one. I'll be having some for 'linner' today to see if it is any good.

This is the last John Sandford book in his Prey Series that I had in my library. I would like to find more of his but it does not look like that will happen at this Park. The first three were Eyes of Prey reviewed on 5 November 2014, Chosen Prey on 5 December 2014 and Sudden Prey on 20 December 2014. In all of them you know who the bad guy/girl is early on in the story. The suspense and the joy in reading the books lies in the Lucas character and how he goes about catching the perp.

It's the little things about Lucas Davenport that make him such a kick to follow his ruminations about why a public bus smells like urine, his fear that a cell phone won't work in the bathroom "with all the tile." Davenport is, of course, a marvelous if unorthodox cop from Minneapolis, starring here in his 13th Prey offering, which finds creator Sandford operating at top efficiency and in high style. Clara Rinker, the hit woman extraordinaire who slipped out of Davenport's grasp in 1999's Certain Prey, is now back on the prowl, looking for revenge against old enemies from Kansas City who killed her fiance and shot her in the gut. The bullet spared her life, but not that of her baby. The FBI, knowing she's headed to Missouri, assembles a huge team of shirt-and-tie, laptop-carrying agents, but also taps Davenport to make the trip. Sure enough, Rinker starts knocking off old business partners in creative ways, making the tech-minded FBI look foolish. It's only Davenport and his feet-on-the-street savvy that finally rope Rinker into a furious pursuit and showdown. Sandford's eye for the tell-all character quirk remains finely tuned, as does his deadpan humor, rivaled by few in the crime-drama ranks. Longtime fans should take note that changes are ahead for Davenport. He's marrying his sweetie, Dr. Weather Karkinnen, and they're having a kid. He's also about to leave the city police force, following his boss, Rose Marie Roux, to a job with the state police. - Publishers Weekly

I traded this book at the Park library today and got the one that I was hopping would still be there. I have no idea if it will be any good but it was the best of the lot that remained. Most of the 'good' books are those that I have left in trade. HA

9 February
Hickiwan Trails RV Park
Why, AZ

Patches had me up and out at about 4:00 this morning for a quick potty trip. She is a Good Girl. I was not happy to be going outside at that hour of the morning but much prefer that rather than cleaning a mess off the carpet in Desperado. Another gastrointestinal upset which I may have contributed to by giving her Country Style trimmings yesterday. She does not get fresh meat very often and I think I gave her more yesterday than I usually do.

We have had high temperatures of 80° or slightly above for the past 5 days and the forecast is that will continue for 6 more days. Patches does not like that much and has had her tongue dragging by the time we finish our 2 mile afternoon walk. We will be moving up in elevation and back into 70s and 60s for the high which will make both of us happier.

I built a few more API map replacements yesterday and did some more editing on some of those that I had previously completed. They were opening just fine but were using absolute links for the Markers and I want everything to be relative linked. I think I will need to go back and edit all the API maps that I did for all the Peregrinating pages also but have been afraid to look. That will be a job.

I think I got this housecleaning schedule arranged to suite me. I have a cup of coffee and then clean the toilet and bathroom sink plus vacuum the bath and kitchen floors. Take a break for a second cup and then wash the floors. While the floors dry go to the Park showers and come back for a third cup. Last step of a busy morning is to put everything back into the bathroom and vacuum the living room carpet. Done for the day!

The only other meaningful thing that I did today was prepare my 3x5 card for the route to my next camp. I knew that route without the card but wanted to make notes about where to stop for breakfast and for gas. The latest gas price I found was 71¢ less than here at the Casino station in Why. I'll probably be taking on 35 gallons or a 'saving' of $25 rather than leave here with a full tank.

Jeb Bush spoke at a "Family Reunion" conference hosted by the Hispanic Leadership Network in April 2013 where he supported giving DREAMers a path to citizenship. This will not endear him to the anti-amestry crowd although he did provide good justification.

But "He even suggested the mayor of Detroit - the economically depressed Midwestern city where he's giving his first policy address of the 2016 campaign on Wednesday [4 February 2015] - use immigration to "repopulate" the city." The man needs to have the demographics of the Detroit area explained to him because he obviously does not have a clue.

African-American/Black/Negros were 81 percent of the population in 2012, Hispanics were 8 percent. Hispanics and African-American/Black/Negros do not get along very well, perhaps even less well than African-American/Black/Negros and Whites do. He might also like to know that just outside of Detroit, the city of Dearborn, MI holds the second densest Arab community outside of the Middle East. They are not assimilating with the Whites nor the African-American/Black/Negros why would he think they would with a Detroit re-populated by Hispanics?

Jim Goad understands the dynamics of Hispanic and African-American/Black/Negros living together in a diversified community and writes about it in The Problem With Race Wars Among Minorities. This is something that Fred Reed has written about repeatedly on Fred On Everything.

I can only guess that the reason you don't hear much about black-versus-Hispanic violence in America is that you're not supposed to hear much about it. It's the sort of thing that swims upstream against the dominant narrative with the tenacity of a thuggish, heavily tattooed salmon. In the nation's fevered movie dreams about racial violence, it's white people (and only white people) who go about thrashing nonwhites (and only nonwhites). But in cities across the country-most notably, Los Angeles—one group of nonwhites is engaged in a prolonged, grinding, violent turf war with another group of nonwhites-and that's something which is clearly NOT in the script.

10 February
Hickiwan Trails RV Park
Why, AZ

The last house cleaning chores that needed to be done will be finished by the end of the day. I got the dash wiped down this morning but did not clean nose prints and dog slobber off the passenger window. Patches has been pretty good about keeping them clean since we have been here so they will stay slightly messed up. I'll wipe down the stove and kitchen counter tops after 'linner' today. That will be the last of the chores. Back on the road again early tomorrow morning.

I did look at the API maps that I have embedded in my Peregrinating pages and they do have absolute link coding in them. They work fine and the only reason for changing them is I want all my internal site links to be relative. The other reason for relative links is the shorter code can decrease a page's download time. I notice that some of my pages that have more than one embedded map do load a little slow but I doubt that changing the links will make much difference. I did start the editing process yesterday and that will be another project with no deadline.

It seems like President Obama has lost another former ally in the Middle East because of his foreign policy support of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. President Putin visited Egypt yesterday bearing gifts and the promise of trade which will take some of the sting out of Obama's Sanctions War. This will be trade that does not use the US Dollar, another step on the path of de-dollarization.

Putin has had a good week with the air base in Cyprus and the offer to bail out Greece if the EU will not cut them any slack. The Ukraine War is progressing well: Russian separatist are pushing back, the Germans and French have received a spine implant and are not doing President Obama's bidding and the Kiev Ukraine government is having trouble conscripting new troops.

The Cowardly and Despicable American Presstitutes by Paul Craig Roberts is an article that contrasts the Media reaction to lies told by one of their own (Brian Williams) and those told by the Administration. I have copied only three paragraphs from the article.

Think about this for a minute. We have been hearing from high US government officials, including the president himself, for months and months about Russian tank columns and troops entering Ukraine. The Russian government denies this steadfastly, but, of course, we cannot trust the now-demonized Russians. We are not allowed to believe them, because they are positioned as the Enemy, and good patriotic Americans never believe the Enemy.
But how can we help but believe the Russians? If all these Russian tank columns and troops that have allegedly been pouring into Ukraine were real, Washington's puppet government in Kiev would have fallen sometime last year, and the conflict would be over. Anyone with a brain knows this.
In the event you have forgotten the efficiency of the Russian military, remember the fate of the American and Israeli trained and equipped Georgian Army that Washington sicced on South Ossetia. The Georgian invasion of South Ossetia resulted in the deaths of Russian peace-keeping soldiers and Russian citizens. The Russian military intervened, and the American and Israeli trained and equipped Georgian Army collapsed in five hours. All of Georgia was back in Russian hands, but the Russians withdrew and left the former province of Russia independent, despite the lies from Washington that Putin intends to restore the Soviet Empire.

11 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

Easy drive to the new camp today. The first 100 miles were to my breakfast stop Todd's at Ryan Field. There I got some good Hash with poached eggs and sourdough toast. The best thing was the Arbuckles' Coffee, the only place that I have ever been that served Arbuckles'. Not only that but it was the Original - The Coffee That Won The West.

The gas stop that I picked did not work out as well or worked out better depending on how you look at it. I had selected an Arco station on the west side of Tucson that Gas Buddy reported as $1.739 a couple days ago. Today they were $1.799 which I would have paid but they only accepted cash or Debit Card.

Went on down the road and stopped at a Circle K that had 8-10 pumps and was selling regular for $1.759 or 2¢ more than what I saw online but still 69¢ less than at the Casino in Why. In the future, this will probably be my gas stop in Tucson if I am on the southwest side of town.

Had a Border Patrol check point that I had to stop at near Three Points. I stopped and rolled the window down and the officer said "I was trying to understand what your license plate meant but now that I see you I understand. Have a nice day!" My license is GRABERD.

The route was 181 miles on AZ86, W Valencia Rd, Nogales Hwy, Sahuarita Rd (in Tucson area), AZ83, AZ82 & Harshaw Rd.

This is a small Park a little crowded between spaces but is the only game in town. The bathrooms, laundry and rec room are nice enough but I did not see any books for exchange. It is a good thing that I have a full unread library. I think the price is a little steep for what you get but did I mention it is the only game in town in a primo bird watching location and now is a prime time of the year to be doing so.

I think our afternoon walk will be to 'downtown'. Find where the market is in town and where the one or two possible breakfast restaurants are located. More importantly find out what hours those places are open so I can plan my shopping trips.

12 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

I went back 'downtown' this morning and talked to the owner of the market. She can get me what I want but only in case lots. That is not going to work. I'll be checking out the other market in town this afternoon that has produce and make a decision about where I need to go to buy what I want while here. It is 20+ miles to markets in Nogales which is much farther than I want to drive but I may have to do it. We will see. I stopped at the Ovens of Patagonia for a cup of coffee and found that they are using coffee roasted by Three Canyons Roasters at Hereford, AZ. This is nearby Sierra Vista and where still live some of my cousins. The coffee was not as good as Arbuckles' but it was good.

The high temperature was 68° yesterday which was great. Started to get gusty winds soon after sundown and they have continued today with the expected high to be a little cooler. Morning low temperatures in the lower 40s which is also great but a little cool with the wind.

I was surprised by the amount of traffic that Harshaw Rd has on it. Met a lot of oncoming traffic as we walked into town this morning a little before 7:00. I have also noticed that the traffic has continued throughout the day. I have no idea where all the people are coming from nor where they are going other than the Border Patrol vehicles which I saw 3-4 during our walk.

President Obama has asked Congress to grant him new War Powers and he had to go on TV to promote the proposal and himself. Under Obama's proposal, the use of military force against Islamic State fighters would be authorized for three years, unbounded by national borders. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the proposal was intentionally ambiguous on the point of ground troops to give the President flexibility.

Remember when President Obama told outgoing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that he will have "more flexibility", perhaps this is whe was referring to. The President also said in his September 2014 speech at the headquarters of CENTCOM and Special Ops "It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil." But now he wants flexibility to put them on any and all foreign soil.

The new War Powers and flexibility would be for ONLY three years. Obama said that it will take time to dislodge the terrorist which could mean that he will Git 'er Done in three or after that it will then be some other President's problem. I tend to think it is the later and he has no intentions of defeating the Islamic State while he is in office. This is nothing but political theater.

I don't think this new War Powers authorization covers any military action other than against the Islamic State. I don't know why President Obama is even asking for such authority he hasn't asked for it when deploying troops to Africa nor to Ukraine.

The U.S. military plans to deploy troops to Ukraine in spring 2015 to train four companies in the Ukrainian National Guard, according to Lt. Gen. Frederick Ben Hodges, commander of U.S. Army Europe. You didn't hear much about that deployment and there was certainly no War Powers authorization. This is the same thing that he did in Iraq; sent troops to train, 'no boots on the ground' bla, bla bla. Are we now at war in Ukraine also but have this cover story about providing "lethal aid"?

13 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

Yesterday afternoon we walked to Red Mountain Foods, which is also 'downtown', and checked out what was available. They have a wonderful produce selection that may be a little more expensive than my usual but a lot of it is organic which I don't usually buy because of cost. They also have Greek God Honey & Vanilla Yogurt! A little store in a little town carry my brand of yogurt that I have a hard time finding in big town markets. Expensive olive oil at both markets but I'll probably buy it from Red Mountain.

Patagonia Market will have to provide everything else that I want. It is a good thing that I am not eating much meat because the pickings are rather slim in both markets. I may do one trip to a Nogales market just to get some meat and the 'stuff' that I can not live without and can not find here. It will not be tomorrow however, tomorrow I'll be shopping at the two markets here in Patagonia.

Our morning walk today was to the south along Harshaw Rd which was not nearly as busy as yesterday. More traffic than I think there should be on a road that doesn't go anywhere but it is what it is.

One of the vehicles was my neighbor with his three English Pointer and one Setter in dog boxes on the back of his pickup. He is not much for conversation although pleasant enough so I don't know much about what he is doing but he is gone with the dog most of the morning and then again in the late afternoon.

I think he may have been here for the Mearns' quail season ( Patagonia-Sonoita has big time quail hunting) which ended on 8 February and is now just exercising his dogs.

They are skinny as rails and I saw one that was outside chewing on its foot and went over and told him about what I saw. He thanked me and said he would take a look at it but he sure didn't do it right away. I don't think he abuses the dogs but he doesn't show much affection for them either. They are working dogs and seem to be very happy to go to work. When he comes out and starts getting the truck ready to leave in the afternoon they are barking and eager to go.

We walked past the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center which is a spa that offers "treatments that have been specifically designed to cleanse and rejuvenate you physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually". This is only one of several 'Wellness' businesses in Patagonia with names such as Bikram, Joyfull Becoming, Rolfer, Pilates and Shiatsu Massage. I did not expect the town to have a Sedona New Age vibe but the wellness places and the trendy arts places are here although I have not heard that there are vortexes.

Fourth Turning - The Shadow Of Crisis Has Not Passed is a four part series of articles posted at The Burning Platform by the Administrator (Jim Quinn) of the web site. The series began on 9 February 2015 with a posting each day after that. It is recommended, perhaps required, reading in my opinion. No quotes, there is just too much good information.

14 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

We walked to the Post Office yesterday afternoon where we met a woman that lives here that kaBLOOnie boonster of Occupation of Independence had arranged. Another woman that is spending winter months here joined us and we did a shortened Patagonia Train Track Trail walk.

There was a big Labrador on the walk also. When he met Patches on leash it went better that I had expected but she was raising hackles. When we took them off leash there was not a problem one. They got along just great for the entire walk. Patches was a VERY happy dog last night. I did over 5 miles yesterday she probably did over 7 so she is a tired dog. She got to take a dirt bath when we stopped for a couple of minutes so she is also a dirty dog. The two requirements that make for a happy dog.

A high overcast this morning that seemed to get thicker as the day progressed. We did a short potty walk after getting up a little later. That allowed us to be at the Gathering Grounds soon after they opened at 7:00. I had a build your own omelet with sausage, mushrooms and spinach with home fries and some good coffee. A little on the pricy side but this is a tourist town.

Then went to the Patagonia Market for canned goods and Red Mountain Food to get produce. I was expecting to wait at Red Mountain because I had been told they open at 9:00 and the sign on the door say 9:00 but they were open when I got there. The woman on the register said that they open at 8:00 so I am not sure who to believe but was glad that they were open.

My vegetarian stew for this week was made with a can of broth, 3 cans of hominy, 3 cans of pinto beans, three medium sized yellow squash and a couple dabs of oregano. That will be eaten with a big salad as always and my yogurt dessert.

Update of Minsk Peace Deal by Paul Craig Roberts is a good article which closes with this paragraph. I hope he is correct in his assessment of European thinking.

It is difficult to believe that European governments are not aware that the entire Ukraine crisis is a Washington orchestration. Now that Europeans are beginning to realize the risk and recklessness in Washington's aggressive hostility toward Russia, Europeans might develop an independent foreign policy, as opposed to lining up with Washington, and cast off their vassalage. If this were to happen, Washington's hegemonic aggression would cease to have enablers. The Evil Empire would begin its break-up, and the chances for peace would improve.

15 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

Our afternoon walk yesterday was up onto the mesa that parallels Harshaw Rd on the south side. To get up there we climbed the Mesa Trail which I assume was built by the Tree of Life because it leads to their Café and other facilities on the mesa. Not all that much of a climb but I have been a flat land walker for so long that it had me puffing and blowing.

I noticed right away this morning that it had required the use of some muscles that had not been used for some time. I'm a little sore but the knees feel fine which is good because they were complaining as we came back down off the mesa. I could have followed roads to downtown and then back on Harshaw but that was a longer walk than I was wanting to do. Maybe next time?

While I'm on the subject of aches and pains I'll tell you about my arthritis. I first noticed it years ago as pain in my hands when I grasped something. Found it harder and harder to open a jar lid and I would have pain in my hand trying to do so. Lately the base knuckle of my right hand little finger has ached almost constantly and when I press on it it is painful. It will not be many more years before I'm one of those 'ol men that won't/can't shake hands because it is too painful.

It was partly cloudy (but increasingly so during the day with a 80% chance of rain) when we did a long potty walk this morning. The walk included some training of Patches in cattle guard crossing. A couple of days ago she was very hesitant to cross but with a little encouragement she made her way across. This morning she hesitated only slightly and walked beside me rather than out in front but she tip toed across nicely. She is a smart dog, she will be running across faster than I can walk after a few more crossings.

The Ministry of Propaganda is working hard in setting up the narrative for the 2016 presidential primaries. They seem to have anointed Hillary as the Democratic Party nominee but have done so with little vigor. The Republican Party nominee is of much more concern; especially since Scott Walker, Governor of Wisconsin, has been making waves. The Ministry was rather comfortable with having Jeb Bush as Hillary's opponent since their basic policies are the same. They are very uncomfortable with Walker.

Having Walker as a candidate would be throwing the cat among the pigeons in the Media's opinion and they are trying their best to stop his bid. They tried to make his lack of a university degree an issue whereas Obama received a pass on releasing any of his university records.

The last president that did not have a university degree was Harry S. Truman but neither the Democratic Party nor Media mention him very often. One of their icons is John F. Kennedy that did receive a degree from Harvard after dropping out of Princeton and then later withdrawing from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Another of the Democratic Party presidents, Lyndon Baines Johnson, withdrew (he claimed that he was thrown out) of S.W.T.S.T.C. but then later graduated from there; he also withdrew from Georgetown University Law Center. The Media does not make any mention of these presidents when questioning Walkers qualifications to serve.

The New York Times is trying a different attack of Walker since the education smear was not catching on with the sheeple (most of them not having a university degree either). Gail Collins of the Times wrote an article blaming Scott Walker for teacher layoffs that occurred in 2010. The problem with that is Walker was elected in 2011. That is not going to make any difference, it will now become part of the Media narrative - it need not be true.

16 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

The 80% chance of rain did come to pass but it was not much rain. Maybe a trace, the ground was a little damp but there was not enough to create puddles anywhere. Heavy overcast this morning and the forecast is for stray showers and thunderstorms.

We did our morning walk in the big field to the north of the Park that has very little grass but there are a few cattle wandering around looking for a bite to eat. I did find a gate that I can open and get into Harshaw Creek which I can follow to the Train Trail and to town. I may do that some morning but not today. I continued to scout the field for other exits and found none before looping back to the Park.

I have once again read all the blogs on my Monthly list and am as current as I ever will be. I also did some more API map edits and guess that I'm about half way through that project.

This is the first Steve Berry book that I have read. It is also my introduction to Cotton Malone and the other main characters from his other books. The best part of the book for me was the background history of Alexander the Great. The closing twists and turns in the story plot were disappointing and what the Weekly calls pedestrian prose got in the way from time to time. I think I selected it for the volume of pages and it was entertaining so I will be looking for more from his Cotton Malone Series.

In bestseller Berry's predictable third novel to feature Cotton Malone (after The Alexandria Link and The Templar Legacy), Malone takes on another villain bent on world domination, Irina Zovastina, supreme minister of the Central Asian Federation, who's plotting to use a bioweapon to destroy Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Malone races around the globe trying to find the means to foil the minister, aided by longtime allies Cassiopeia Vitt, an enigmatic and deadly operative, and his former Justice Department boss, Stephanie Nelle. The answer may lie buried with Alexander the Great's remains. Both the good and the bad guys let their opponents live in circumstances that make no sense except to prolong the plot, and the genuine mysteries surrounding the death of Alexander the Great receive short shrift. Despite some pedestrian prose (He shook his head. Choices. Everybody made them), this international yarn, full of shoot-outs and explosions, won't disappoint fans of Berry's previous action-packed thrillers. - Publishers Weekly

Egypt responded to the Islamic State's beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in much the same way that Jordan did to their pilot being burned alive - they bombed them with Libya helping. President Obama responded in his same way also - he went to play golf. He did issue a statement condemning the Islamic State as he has done with every American death. He didn't refer to Islam in any way of course and also avoided any reference to Christians. He saves his Christian remarks for those times he is condemning their savagery during the Crusades.

17 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

We did a long potty walk towards downtown this morning. Just before where I had decided that I would turn around Patches was looking across the street which caused me to look and see two javelina running along a fence beside a house that is in the town of Patagonia.

We turned around and walked perhaps 50' and there was another javelina trotting right at us. He/she got within about 20' before doing a quick U-turn and ran down the sidewalk the across the street and then in the same general direction that the other two had been going. Patches never barked but she was nose to the ground all along where the javelina had been. She is a very good sniffer.

On our walks to town we pass two homes that have two dogs each. The two shepard type dogs always bark and run back and forth along the fence but Patches is not bothered much by them. The two terrier dogs are a very different story. The pup is still learning and does not cause a problem but the adult terrier and Patches had a hate at first sight relationship which has not improved. I have to stay on the far side of the street to maintain better control over Patches. There have not been many dogs that she has hated but this is one of them.

The winners wrote the history of the Civil War and the legacy of President Lincoln. They overlook, or excuse, all that he did that trampled the Constitution and that may be why President Obama tries to compare himself to Lincoln. General Robert E. Lee understood what was lost and this quote from his reply to Lord Acton has proved prescient. I have added the emphasis.

I can only say that while I have considered the preservation of the constitutional power of the General Government to be the foundation of our peace and safety at home and abroad, I yet believe that the maintenance of the rights and authority reserved to the states and to the people, not only essential to the adjustment and balance of the general system, but the safeguard to the continuance of a free government. I consider it as the chief source of stability to our political system, whereas the consolidation of the states into one vast republic, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of that ruin which has overwhelmed all those that have preceded it.

18 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

Yesterday afternoon I gave Patches some more cattle guard crossing experiences. She slipped on one of the crossings but that did not put her off about doing it again. I wish I could do as well in training her to ignore other dogs but I guess that will never happen.

This morning felt colder that it has been and I put on my wool cap once more and for a time wished that I had on a heavier jacket. Not that cold at 41° but I have been spoiled.

We walked through the field north of the Park again and then followed the fence line west until we were blocked by the fence but found a place that I could step over. This gave me access to Harshaw Creek and a short walk to the Train Tail and then Gathering Grounds were I stopped for a cup of good coffee. I like their coffee much better than Ovens of Patagonia. This is a route that I'll probably be doing often.

I got some more API maps edited the past couple of days and guess that I'm about 2-3 days away from finishing that project. Nothing much else going on other than on the couch with Patches and my book.

U.S. Intensifies Effort to Blunt ISIS' Message by Eric Schmitt for The New York Times is an article about how the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, a part of the State Department, is bringing the War to the Islamic State (it is a long article that needs to be read if not understood). It expresses the same war strategy as State Department Spokesperson Marie Harf does when she said " But we cannot win this war by killing them. We cannot kill our way out of this war. We can work with countries around the world to help improve their governance. We can help them build their economies so they can have job opportunities for these people."

So the State Department, not the Defense Department, is leading the fight against the Islamic State. The battle plans will be drawn up in the Violent Extremism Conference that starts today. President Obama will speak to the assembled group twice during the three day event and they can then all go home knowing that the problem has been fixed. That is the Obama way - have a meeting then declare that the problem is solved.

"We're getting beaten on volume, so the only way to compete is by aggregating, curating and amplifying existing content^*" Richard A. Stengel, the under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, said by telephone on Monday. Until now, he said, the efforts to counter ISIS could have been better coordinated.
Many of the plan's details are still being worked out, but administration officials are expected to describe at least its broad outlines during three days of meetings, sponsored by the White House and beginning Tuesday, intended to showcase efforts underway in the United States and abroad to combat what the authorities call violent extremism.

19 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

We walked downtown again this morning via Harshaw Rd which is easier and usually pass no dogs on the way into town. Didn't have the terriers on the way back either, I think they sleep in because we always have them in the afternoon. Stopped for coffee at Gathering Grounds where Patches got some attention.

There was a big group of bicyclist there that were riding the Arizona Sonoran Desert Tour lead by Go Sojourn. They started in Tucson and arrived here yesterday on day 4 of a 7 day ride that loops back to Tucson. Today they ride from Patagonia to visit Tumacãcori, Arizona's oldest Spanish mission, and then overnight in a hacienda at Tubac Golf & Spa Resort. This is not a no frills bike tour (like what I once did) since it is priced at $2,595 which does not include the cost of getting to and from Tucson.

As I was typing todays posting I received a visit from kaBLOOnie boonster the author of Occupation of Independence. He had his dog Coffee Girl with him and Patches was more mellow than she has been in the past when she meets up with her. That does not mean that Patches was not excited because she had plenty to say to me when Coffee Girl left before we moved to a picnic table here in the Park to visit. We had a good conversation and agreed to meet again tomorrow morning at the Gathering Ground.

The article U.S. Intensifies Effort to Blunt ISIS' Message by Eric Schmitt for The New York Times that I commented on yesterday is a long one with more interesting disclosures. President Obama has appointed a wolf to guard the sheep. Read Obama Appoints Terrorist Supporter to Head Up New Counterterrorism Messaging Center by Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs to find out why Rashad Hussain was chosen by Obama to replace Mr. Fernandez. The article Obama and the Muslim Gang Sign by F. W. Burleigh for the American Thinker may also help in understanding why he made the appointment.

Skeptics of the new campaign voiced concerns that the program is an attempt by the White House to end a long-simmering turf war with the counterterrorism center's director, Alberto Fernandez, and exercise more control over the kinds of messages that are produced and coordinated with domestic and international partners.
Other officials questioned whether even a newly empowered center at the State Department would be up to the task. Operating the center on a shoestring budget of about $5 million a year, Mr. Fernandez, a respected Middle East specialist and career Foreign Service officer, and his supporters have long complained that neither the State Department nor the White House fully supported or properly financed the center's activities.
Mr. Fernandez, who is retiring in April, declined to comment for this article. The new director will be Rashad Hussain, a Muslim American who has close ties to the White House and is currently the special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

20 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

I climbed the Mesa Trail again yesterday afternoon and checked to see if I could get through a fence. There were vehicle tracks shown on Google Maps passing through the fence line but there was no way of knowing if I could get through the gate other than go look. I could not.

I can get to 'downtown' by following roads on the mesa but it will be almost 2 miles is my best guess. The easy way is to walk Harshaw Rd that is exactly 1 mile or the field and Harshaw Creek which is about the same distance and only slightly harder. Mesa Trail was not as hard yesterday as the first time I did it but I was still huffing and puffing by the time I got to the top. I'm sure it is good for me and I should do it more often - but.

This morning I was a little late getting up and knew that I would be late in getting to the Gathering Ground to meet Boonie if I walked. That was a good excuse for not walking as was sore feet and it was shopping day. Therefore, I did a short potty walk with Patches and drove to town.

Ate another good omelet while engaged in some more good conversation with Boonie. We didn't solve any of the world problems but talked a lot about past and future camps. I then went to the two markets in town and got what I needed for this next week. Not everything that I wanted - no Greek God Honey Vanilla so I will be using Honey Lemon this week and will add some vanilla.

I have been trying to get my next camp to reply to emails for the past week with no luck. Today I tried using my TracFone and was receiving a No Service message but dialed the number three times and finally got it to ring and had someone answer. Have now changed my arrival date successfully and can go through the same process with the camp for following month. Then maybe make reservations for the May-Jun and Jun-July periods which I am still mulling over.

President Obama needs to read What ISIS Really Wants by Graeme Wood that was written for The Atlantic and is posted on their web site. The article is much too long for me to summarize but I think Obama should take heed of what Wood says in these two paragraphs. Mr Wood puts paid to the argument that ISIS (Islamic State) is not Islamic. As did Orwell when he said "There are some ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them".

Western officials would probably do best to refrain from weighing in on matters of Islamic theological debate altogether. Barack Obama himself drifted into takfiri waters when he claimed that the Islamic State was "not Islamic" - the irony being that he, as the non-Muslim son of a Muslim, may himself be classified as an apostate, and yet is now practicing takfir^* against Muslims. Non-Muslims' practicing takfir elicits chuckles from jihadists ("Like a pig covered in feces giving hygiene advice to others," one tweeted).
I suspect that most Muslims appreciated Obama's sentiment: the president was standing with them against both Baghdadi and non-Muslim chauvinists trying to implicate them in crimes. But most Muslims aren't susceptible to joining jihad. The ones who are susceptible will only have had their suspicions confirmed: the United States lies about religion to serve its purposes.

21 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

I forgot to add the Will Rogers weekly article link to the posting yesterday. Remembered it late last night and was able to remember to add it this morning. It is tough for us 'ol folks that have such a busy lifestyle to remember what day of the week it is. I know that I need to add the link on Friday the hard part is knowing what day is Friday.

Yesterday morning began with a buttermilk sky in the east which provided a spectacular Arizona sunrise. It was Chamber of Commerce worthy! But the buttermilk soon turned into curds and whey then to a total overcast. It also stayed cool all day with a high of 67° with gusty winds in the afternoon. The forecast is for it to be much the same for the rest of this month with the days being mostly sunny but in the 60s.

I made up my weekly 'linner' main course this morning. It is not quite a Risotto since I used less broth so the barley was done yet still had some crunch to it. To the cup of barley I added a package of frozen green peas and a large diced onion that had been partially cooked. This was all then thrown into the pot for the Thermal Cooker with a pound of bacon that had been browned off and allowed to cook until this afternoon.

This story at CNN was released by DHS just as the Violent Extremism Party closed down in Washington which I find to be not coincidental. The report has used a new term, new to me anyway, the sovereign citizen extremists. The government defines these sovereign citizen extremists as people who believe that they can ignore laws and that their individual rights are under attack.

They've lashed out against authority in routine daily instances such as a traffic stop or being required to obey a court order. I don't know how it is possible differentiate between a sovereign citizen extremist and just some common everyday criminal but the DHS, in coordination with the FBI, has been able to do so for the 24 attacks. I would bet that the attack on the two police officers in Brooklyn were not included in that count.

A new intelligence assessment, circulated by the Department of Homeland Security this month and reviewed by CNN, focuses on the domestic terror threat from right-wing sovereign citizen extremists and comes as the Obama administration holds a White House conference to focus efforts to fight violent extremism.
Some federal and local law enforcement groups view the domestic terror threat from sovereign citizen groups as equal to -- and in some cases greater than -- the threat from foreign Islamic terror groups, such as ISIS, that garner more public attention.
The Homeland Security report, produced in coordination with the FBI, counts 24 violent sovereign citizen-related attacks across the U.S. since 2010.

22 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

We walked to the library this morning. I knew it would not be open but just wanted to do a different walk rather than to downtown. It is a block south of what I am calling Patagonia downtown almost directly behind the Gathering Grounds.

Between first and second cups of coffee I dumped the holding tanks. Filled the fresh water tank so that will take care of those chores for a couple more weeks. I'll probably do this again a little earlier next time knowing that I will need to do it twice before I leave here. It is best to dump when the tanks are closer to full because gravity if the operating force to flush everything out of the tank.

My other accomplishments today have been finishing one book and starting another. I also edited a few more API maps but that projects has more remaining.

This is the second Uris book that I have read. The first was Trinity that I reviewed on 1 November 2014 which I liked a lot and thought I was getting the same well written book when I found this one. I was disappointment as was the Weekly. Much of my disappointment was covered by their review but there was also some not so believable fiction. He has O'Connell taking part in a Marine special operation that the Marines do not do; this is something that the Navy Seals or the Army Special Forces do. He also has O'Connell being raised by conservative parents, on a cattle ranch, in a conservative western state, becomes a Marine hero and then a left-wing liberal politically - doubtful. The book was published in 1999 and Uris died in 2003. I'm sure he would have been an all-in supporter for Obama in 2008 if he had been alive but then would have become one of those with buyers remorse if he had lived until 2012. This book has not turned me off but it is his early novels that are probably his better work.

Veteran writer Uris (Exodus; Redemption) begins his 12th novel with a compelling premise: Quinn O'Connell is certain to become America's second Roman Catholic president, except that he discovers, a week before the 2008 election, that he was actually born Jewish. Adopted 60 years ago by a Catholic couple, and newly informed by his long-lost Jewish half-brother of his heritage, O'Connell now asks a difficult question: Is America ready to elect a Jewish president? This initial introduction of the issue of anti-Semitism seems promising. Uris obviously is aiming to put the religion of a world leader in perspective: what does it matter if he's at heart a good and honest man? But then he virtually ignores the theme for the next 300 pages. Even when the national reaction to O'Connell's identity results in epidemic violence against Jewish people across the country, an event compared to Kristallnacht, the national issue that gets the most play in O'Connell's presidential race is gun control. His opponent in the election is Republican incumbent Thornton Tomtree, whose administration is struggling to repair his reputation in the wake of violent national tragedies like the Four Corners Massacre, in which 400 Eagle Scouts and their troop leaders are killed in a catastrophic explosion set off by a drugged-out militia group. O'Connell goes up against the gun lobby and calls for repeal of the Second Amendment as part of his presidential campaign. This issue dominates the bulk of the novel, making the opening and closing sections feel like a cut-and-paste job on a totally different story. Years are dismissed in sentences and events are outlined instead of described. Gun lobbies, neo-Nazi militias and tensions between black and Jewish communities eventually get worked into the plot, as does O'Connell's family history, but Uris's apocalyptic tale is too stylistically scattered to generate much suspense. In fact, readers may think they are reading a miniseries teleplay that hasn't been fully fleshed out. - Publishers Weekly

23 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

We did the same walk this morning as yesterday except there is a walkway on the west side of the library woman's club building and then west of Red Mountain Foods. This allowed us to access 'main' street for our return home. Not much different but something to break up the monotony of walking the same routes.

I did some more API map edits today and may finish this project this week. Not that it is going to take me many days do it but it may take that long for me to work up the motivation to do so.

Keep this proposal in the back of your mind during the next year or two. "The White House says it wants greater protections for retirement investing. It unveiled broad strokes of a proposal Monday that would hold financial advisers handling individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and 401(k)s to a higher standard than they currently are." I think this is the first step in requiring all IRAs and 401(k)s be invested ONLY in U.S. Treasury obligations. All in the name of 'protecting' the retirement investments.

Western sanctions and Russian perceptions by The Saker at The Vineyard of the Saker comments on the Sanctions War as it is viewed in Russia. Much differently than how the Administration views it or how the Ministry of Propaganda reports it.

I parse the Russian media (corporate and social) on a daily basis and I am always amazed at the completely different way the issue of western sanctions is discussed. I think that it is important and useful for me to share this with those of you who do not speak Russian.
First, nobody in Russia believes that the sanctions will be lifted. Nobody.
Second, nobody in Russia believes that sanctions are a reaction to Crimea or to the Russian involvement in the Donbass. Nobody.
Third, there is a consensus in Russia that the correct response to the sanctions is doable: a) realign the Russian economy away from the West and b) make Russia less dependent on oil exports.
Fourth, nobody blames Putin for the sanctions or for the resulting hardships.
Fifth, there is a wide agreement that the current Russian vulnerability is the result of past structural mistakes which now must be corrected.
Finally, I would note that while Russia is ready for war, there is no bellicose mood at all. Most Russians believe that the US/NATO/EU don't have what it takes to directly attack Russia.
The above is very important because if you consider all these factors you can come to an absolutely unavoidable conclusion: western sanctions have exactly zero chance of achieving any change at all in Russian foreign policy and exactly zero chance of weakening the current regime.

24 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

We went across the field north and through the gate to Harshaw Creek again this morning. This time I walked a short way up the Creek until I was was blocked by a fence which I found a way to step over. I was then on San Antonio Rd which Google Maps shows to connect Harshaw Rd to AZ82 which is not correct.

Yesterday afternoon I followed San Antonio Rd from Harshaw Rd and it led into private property. This morning when I regained San Antonio Rd in Harshaw Creek there was a locked gate on the north and south side of the Creek. The north side gate has an opening that allows walkers to pass through onto San Antonio Rd.

I walked north on the Rd then looped around the Native Seeds/SEARCH Conservation Farm until coming to another gate on the south side of the Farm. I had looked at this gate before and thought it to be wired shut but found that I could open it, walk across Harshaw Creek, back into the field and home. Slightly over 1.5 miles that I can extend and do the eastern portion of the Train Track Trail. Very good!

It was about 43° when we were out walking with only scattered clouds and little wind. By 11:00 it had reached 49° with clouds building up and the wind gusting at nearly 30 mph. It then got colder rather than warmer. The expected high was 53 with an 80% chance of rain but by 2:00 that was changed to 54 with a 20% chance but it was still only up to 49; I might not be doing an afternoon walk.

Finished the API map edit project today. That now leaves me with nothing more to do with the change in web hosts and the changes in my web design. Or maybe I should say I don't think it leaves me anything more to do. I have been reading some about PHP coding but haven't arrived at what I might do if I learn how to code using PHP.

"Every time a man is killed in the air every paper in the country carries it, and six and eight can be run over a crossing in an auto by a train, and there won't be a paper outside their own country have a word about it. It's so common it's just not news."- Will Rogers
This is especially true of CNN International. When I was in Bulgaria one of the few English speaking TV channels that was available was CNN International and they reported EVERY plane crash anywhere in the world.

25 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

It was winter here again in Patagonia. Light frost on the car windows this morning with the low at 31°. That is what the temperature was when we went for our walk downtown which required a stop at the Gathering Grounds for some hot coffee. Patches was loving it.

Yesterday never got above 52° and it was just over 50 with a 20-25 mph wind when we did our afternoon walk. It was a little shorter than usual around the perimeter of the field to the north. Not quite 1.5 miles and not a very interesting walk but considering the weather it was more than enough.

There have been a lot of trail motorcycles in the Park for the past 2-3 days. I also saw a lot at the Stage Stop Inn this morning. I don't know what is going on but there are motorcycles going back and forth on Harshaw Rd during much of the day.

26 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

Cold again this morning , low of 38°, but not as cold as yesterday and we were not out in it for very long. We did a short potty walk and then headed for the city. The city in this case being Nogales, AZ population 20,456 compared to Patagonia, AZ population 896.

First stop was for breakfast at Zula's Restaurant where they offered a Huevos con Chorizo Thursday Special. This being Thursday that is what I had and probably what I would have ordered on any day of the week. It was not bad but I would have preferred potatoes rather than beans and the coffee was mediocre.

I then went to the closest Villa's Market and found that it was their warehouse location with a small retail outlet. I had 3x5 card notes to get to that location but remembered where the store was that Google Maps would bring up so I drove there and found a fair sized market. Very good meat department and I only glanced at the produce but it looked good also. Their other offerings are rather slim pickings except for the tortillas - biggest selection I have ever seen, some from Mexico.

I was going to get some Country Style Ribs but they looked too fat so got some very nice pork chops. Wanted Jimmy Dean Sausage and settled for some off brand sausage I have never heard of before. Wanted to get some Folgers Black Silk because I'll be out of Arbuckels before I leave here, they had none and had a very small selection of coffee. Wanted some bakers chocolate and dark chocolate bars which they did not have. Great place for meat, produce and tortillas - but.

Last stop of the day was at Red Mountain Food in Patagonia on the way back to the Park. There I got all my produce for the week. Also picked up two large containers of Greek God Honey Vanilla Yogurt and a couple packages of frozen blueberries. This is the place to get those items and the owner remembers that I need the Greek God yogurt.

Near the turn off to Patagonia Lake I saw a Go Sojourn van and trailer unloading some bicycles for 2-3 riders that were going to start riding from there. I then saw 9 riders making the long climb, although not that steep, from Patagonia to the Lake turn off. This is another week tour that started on 22 February and there are two more scheduled in March.

27 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

I had a visit from Boonie this morning when he came to the RV Park to use the laundry. It seems that the RV Park has the only coin laundry available in Patagonia. He will be moving to what he considers his regular boondocking location here in the Patagonia area this afternoon. Stopped by to tell me that and we will be doing a walk with Coffee Girl and Patches there soon.

Yesterday afternoon we did another short potty walk. The weather was great but I just did not feel like doing a walk. I have been foot sore and the short walking day yesterday was a big help, not nearly as sore this morning. Went back to Gathering Grounds for coffee again this morning and the 2 mile round trip felt better.

It felt like it was the same temperature this morning as yesterday morning but we were out in it longer so the stop for coffee was welcome. It was a little warmer at 42° but with a 10 mph wind. That wind was just starting to build and by noon it was blowing some 25-30 mph gusts. I think this is the leading edge of a storm that is forecast for Monday - Wednesday with high temperatures in the upper 50s and lows in the mid 30s with 50-60% chance of rain.

The Secular Religion of the Left by Daniel Greenfield at Sultan Knish is a recommended read. I have only copied a couple of paragraphs from the opening of his article.

The left can be summed up as moral materialism. It is a secular religion that claims to add a moral dimension to materialism. Its obsessions are largely economic, from its early class warfare focus to its modern environmentalism. Even its racial politics code class warfare by skin color.
Kill off religion and what do you have left? The answer can be seen in China. You're left with materialism and family interests.. Cast off the shackles of the family for individualistic consumerism and you're left with nothing except materialism as can be seen in any major Western city.

28 February
Patagonia RV Park
Patagonia, AZ

Our afternoon walk yesterday was across the field north of us and through the two gates that put us on the south edge of the Native Seeds/SEARCH Conservation Farm. Followed their fence line to the west and then diagonally across a wide open filed until joining the south Patagonia Train Track Trail. Continued west on the Trail until I could see where I entered/exited Harshaw Creek to step over the fence back into the field that is north of the Park. It is then a little over half a mile from there back to Desperado. A nice loop route.

This morning was a lot warmer than it has been and it was clear with winds of less than 10 mph. That didn't last long with the wind gusting to 25 mpg and clouds rolling in by 9:00. The forecast is for it to be partly cloudy today but the weather guessers continue to think it is going to be much colder Mon - Wed with a 90% chance of rain on Monday. Not good.

A do nothing day for me. Devoted more time than was necessary reading about animated symbols and markers on API Maps. Didn't learn much and wasted a lot of time. That will not stop me from doing some more searching and reading in the future however.

I did some book reading also which was more productive and entertaining. I did not learn much from that either but that was not the goal of the reading.