For those hearty souls thinking of making the trip, be assured of two things. First, the 350 some odd mile stretch of Interstate 70 between Salina, KS and Limon, CO is the reason the Good Lord invented cruise control on automobiles. It is such a vacuum the distances between trees and the occasional grain elevator, or silo can best be described in terms normally reserved for interstellar travel. It also features the filthiest, most gut churning, McDonald's restaurant in the entire world, located in Hays, Kansas.
Second, once at the summit of Pike's Peak, it is best not to partake in a 60's/70's retro-esque version of communion consisting of a double ultra dry vodka martini and a chocolate chip cookie from Maggie's Farm. If you're a flatlander who hasn't spent any serious time in the mountains for decades, like some in the party, that shit will jump all over you in a hurry at 14,000 plus feet above sea level.
Let's face it, a few of us are simply not what we used to be and afterward--under those conditions--the down hill trip becomes an exercise in abject terror, even after you've given up the wheel to someone with more brains and restraint.
Of course while we were gone things in America continued to unravel at a rate even more unnerving than the aforementioned down the mountain glide and drift. Houston and much of the east Texas coastal region drowned in a witches brew of surging salt water, rain, chemical spills, and raw sewage.
The Big Orange Guy showed up in Corpus Christi and at least attempted to sound presidential. However, in the end, the old carnival barker reverted to form by ending his speech with, "What a crowd! What a turnout!"
Well, when your home is waist deep in toxic soup--something Trump failed to mention during his address, along with the horrifying loss of life--there isn't a whole lot else to do is there? Indeed, would you rather wade through two feet of muck in the den, or listen to the man who is promising you huge amounts of money to rebuild? Unfortunately for all involved, members of Trump's own party are already threatening to derail disaster relief if he ties it to raising the debt ceiling. And, as we've seen, El Donald's track record with the republican controlled congress is a tad lackluster.
Once unencumbered by the nightmare in southeast Texas, Brother Don returned home and reportedly has decided to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Also known as the, "Dreamer's" program, Obama's act protects the children of parents who brought them into the country illegally from deportation for at least two years. They can stay beyond the limit without looking over their shoulder for ICE agents if their status is renewed, which it will be so long as they are working, or going to school and haven't been charged with a crime.
The latest dispatches say the administration will stop taking applications, and cease renewals for six months before the program is terminated. The somewhat twisted theory floated by Trump's people is if those same republican clowns in congress want to extend DACA's life, or "improve on it," they'll have the six months to come up with the legislation to do so.
In some circles this is known as a win, win situation. On one hand, Trump, as democratic representative, Ted Lieu says, "...is heeling to his base." In other words, he's placating all the grotesque rubes who blame immigrants for everything that's gone wrong in their lives. On the other he is allowing himself room to publicly wash his hands and lay the crucifixion on a stone hearted congress. After all, if the legislative branch thinks DACA is a worthy program it is their responsibility to save it--from me.
By the way, this line of reasoning only makes sense if you are Donald John Trump, or throwing back large slugs of vodka while consuming cannabis laced confections at 14,000 feet.
Bernie Sanders, the white haired guru of the young and impressionable, said if Trump pulls the plug, as rumored, he will have made, "One of the ugliest and cruelest decisions ever made by a president."
That takes in a lot when you consider what Andrew Jackson did to the Cherokees and other eastern Native American tribes and how FDR's administration handled the Japanese-American population at the start of WWII.
There is little doubt our man Don is up to the task though. He is, after all, the fascist in chief and possesses a mean streak so wide and petty it takes the breath away.
Yes, it is good to see that even after a week of Al fresco dining in Old Colorado City the utter chaos we left behind hasn't been quelled, or even muted.
But then why should it? Look who is running the show, for God's sake. It is a guy who was bequeathed the wheel at an early age and is loathe to give it up, no matter how grossly impaired and over matched he is by both the altitude and the road he is careening down.
Too bad the rest of us are stuck in the same car with him.
sic vita est
9-4-17
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