Have you ever felt like we're rushing down the river of history headlong into the unknown known? By unknown known I mean we may have an idea of the destination, but it's so unfathomable, like a bad dream, that we deny its possibility. The rivers of history have done that before.

Like all rivers, this one too, has branches that empty into it, some large, some small. The larger tributaries are the true believers that will ride the currents no matter what may come. The smaller tributaries are those that see the rough waters ahead. The true believers are convinced the river will widen into a slow rolling and calm future. The smaller tributaries are those that see the rapids and the waterfall dead ahead and the dangers of such.

Years of manipulation have muddied the waters so that the large tributaries may easily swallow up the smaller ones into one inevitable flow that will engulf us all. Into that unknown known.

It appears pretty certain that we're headed down that river, whether we like it or not. There's a new reality over those rapids and down the waterfall, and just like the force of a mighty river there are mighty forces that will carry the willing and unwilling, marching in lock step or kicking and screaming, into whatever great body of water that lies ahead.

Spring has arrived here in Southeast Texas and the grass is getting green and it's growing. I've never before had to access the battery under the seat on our zero turn lawn mower until now. I went out to start it yesterday and the battery was dead. I pushed the lever that locks the seat in place and went to lift the seat but it was a no go. After much angst and effort I finally checked the mechanics of the seat latch and it turns out that two hooks that lock the seat into place aren't clearing the bracket which should release it. To fix it I'll have to file the points of the hooks back to where they will clear the bar. This zero turn is a Gravely, a higher end model, one would think that quality control would have caught this defect upon manufacturing, but that wasn't the case. So much for quality control. I guess it's make 'em and sell 'em in the corporate world and let the buyer beware, even on the higher end products.

The grass isn't going to wait so fixing the mower is on my agenda for today. Because of that my open thread today will be a bit truncated with just a couple of quick thoughts.

There have been many great societal changes down through history. I think it's inarguable that we are in one of those great changes at the present. How we got here is debatable, but I note a pattern to the trajectory, an oscillation, a swing from one extreme to another, like a pendulum.

Instead of rushing headlong into a rapid change, we're being marched incrementally to whatever it is that's been long planned for us. To me, it's been obvious the last few election cycles as we bounce from one amplitude of the pendulum to the next, ala Edgar Allan Poe's tale of a massive blade that's lowered ever so slightly upon each swing back and forth until society is broken and divided.

The constitutional principles of separation of powers and a co-equal tripartite government are out of balance. The president has become too powerful. Congress has abrogated too much of its power to the executive branch. The president can unilaterally declare war and essentially allocate funding by edict (executive orders). Presidents can now ignore Supreme Court decisions with no consequence. It seems like each subsequent president grabs more power and then flaunts that power in the face of the people along with blatant in-your-face corruption, which now seems the norm.

Inspiration is a fickled thing, many times elusive, often low keyed, sometimes soaring, always subjective. The inspiration for this piece is of the soaring variety, as imaginative as the large kettle of vultures circling high in the sky as I watch out the window. Something about their graceful flight triggered the flow of a Thursday afternoon muse meandering.

The vultures are circling. That's an age worn trope generally thought to mean that they are about to descend on some unfortunate terra firma bound, deceased meal. When in reality they're circling because they have found a favorable thermal that allows them to effortlessly stay aloft without much wing flapping. All the while searching for something dead to eat.

There are various types of vultures, the real ones which are abundant here in Texas, and then there are the metaphorical human examples, also abundant here in Texas as well as the other states. This vulture analogy is nothing new under the sun, which coincidentally creates the thermals, so I suppose one could say that was a double entendre, as are both types of vultures as they feed upon the carrion, both real and analogous.

Have you ever noticed a wake of vultures gathered around a fetid lump that was once a living creature? Have you noticed when you approach them while they're enjoying their meal in the middle of the road, that they know exactly when to fly off to avoid being hit by your vehicle? That takes depth perception and timing to avoid themselves becoming the next carrion meal. How do vultures acquire that knowledge? Are they born with it or is it developed over time by experience, or is it political instinct?

As I sit at my desk and watch the kettle floating on the warm updraft, I wonder much the same about the carcass craving human detritus that walk among us. Those that gain nourishment from the unfortunate souls that catch their interest. Vultures have keen eyesight, some of the best in the animal kingdom. Their eyesight helps them home in on a meal from far above, and on a dollar hanging out of a wallet.

Oh, by the way, you may be considered a tasty meal, by both types. My advice is to keep moving, don't look dead.

As I was sitting at my desktop last night, wondering what I'd write about, I slipped into a daydream of memories. Memories of my youth.

I was swept back to my early childhood in the mid to late fifties, and I soon noticed I was viewing my memories in black and white. That seemed odd, but not really, having grown up in the era of black and white TV. What an idyllic world that was. Time was slow. There was less chaos, well, less chaos in my young mischievous mind anyway. Things were so much simpler. I'm sure many here can relate.

I probably spent a good five minutes in memory land.

It's strange the way a person can drift back in time, like a lucid dream, like a movie.

Certainly we all have heard of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse prediction from The Book of Revelations contained in the Bible. First, The White Horseman, thought to be Jesus himself or possibly the anti-Christ, depending on interpretations. Second, the Red Horseman, thought to represent war. Third, the Black Horseman, thought to represent famine. And fourth, the pale Horseman, thought to represent death.

Notice the similarities that runs through the Book of Revelations' narrative of fear? It's the same leitmotif that runs through the course of The Bible, and most religions, if not all of them. Like the other four Horses, the Fifth Horse of the Apocalypse isn't a physical entity, in my humble opinion, it's a psychological construct.

Just as the underlying teachings of the Bible use the elemental emotion of fear as it's prime mover (pun intended), the same motivation is driving the current societal control mechanisms. For the same reasons.

Corruption is out of control in this country, and hand in hand with that corruption is our government, which is also out of control. It's no longer hidden, in fact, it's flaunted in our faces. The executive branch of our government has wrested too much power. The president, by diktat in the form of executive privilege and executive orders, simply waves his signing hand and so it is done. Is there a better example than the recent presidential pardoning of his son and the rumored preemptive pardoning of his partners in crime? Biden might as well pardon the whole government as corrupt as it currently is.

How do the government and the politicians get away with it? In times past the public would be in the streets with torches and pitchforks, seeking retribution for their grievances. The least that could be expected was a good tar and feathering followed by a good running out on a rail. Today, it's shrugged off as business as usual. The body politic has become accustomed to the corruption and unwilling to make any waves. But, why?

Fear.

The results of years of fear are evident. Lock downs, genocide, wars, lawfare, WWIII, cancellations, de-platforming, crime, IRS audit, threats of martial law, talk of civil war, talk of nuclear war, surveillance, troops in the street, climate change, policrisis, pandemics, poison food, murders on the street openly shown on the internet, and I'm sure I'm missing many more. Step out of line and you'll pay the price. It's been non stop for years and it's taking it's toll. We, the body politic have been socially engineered to acquiesce, to not make waves, out of fear of retribution and lives destroyed.

Fear is the Trojan Horse used to enter one's mind as an insidious manipulation of one's core emotion. Make an individual fearful enough and they will bend to the will of the manipulator. It works the same for a society as well. There's plenty of examples from the past to support this supposition. Today, we've been witnessing the largest and most potent psychological operation in all of history, on steroids, and in real time.

If fear is the Trojan Horse and the Fifth Horse of the Apocalypse, then who may be the rider? And to what end?

It's Thanksgiving Day as I write this from a cabin in the Texas Hill Country. It's beautiful here, rolling and rocky hills full of cattle, wildlife, friendly people and great music. The Texas Hill Country (Central Texas), and especially Austin, have long been known as a hub for an eclectic blend of country, rock and folk music, best known as Cosmic Cowboy music, or more in modern terms, Americana Music. The Austin Music Scene, as it's also known, became a thing in the early 70s shaped by music greats, Jerry Jeff Walker, Gary P. Nunn, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Michael Martin Murphey and many more. Although the Austin Music Scene isn't as vibrant as it once was many of the progenitors are still with us and playing great music.

Last night we went to Luckenbach, just a few miles away from the cabin, and enjoyed a show by Dale Watson, another of the icons of the Austin Music Scene, at the Luckenbach Dance Hall for the annual Thanksgiving Day Ball. We had an absolute great night of dancing (if you can call what I do dancing), libations and fine company. This was the third time we've seen Dale Watson, and the second time we've been here for the Thanksgiving Day Ball featuring Mr. Watson and His Lone Stars. He and the band were on fire, we consider this the best show of the three that we've seen. We left at 11:00 PM full of memories, tee shirts, autographs and photos.

We're staying here through Thanksgiving Day and we'll head back to Southeast Texas tomorrow, Friday. We're forgoing the traditional turkey dinner for barbecued baby back ribs. Yesterday we saw a large rafter of turkeys pass close by the cabin, probably about 100 feet away. I joked with otc that she should have grabbed one for Thanksgiving dinner, but instead we opted for the delicious ribs, being the rebels that we are.

Photos from Outside the Cabin

The plot: Blondie (Clint Eastwood) defeats Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef) in a three-way Mexican showdown and then sets his gaze upon Tuco, the last two men standing. After defeating Tuco, and after a faked hanging, and in magnanimous fashion, Blondie splits the stolen money with Tuco (Eli Wallach) and lets him go, in essence he pardons him, as he rides of into the distance. Art imitating life.

Donald Trump's cabinet picks are rolling in like an assembly line. There are shouts of glee and cries of despair echoing across the land as the future settles into the minds of the body politic. Some pundits point fingers, some pound their chests. The nation remains divided, perhaps even more so after the election. There's an eerie calm across the land, for now.

As I see it, there are some Good potentialities among his picks. There is much fat to be rendered from the bloated governmental carcass. That rendering will cause some hurt but really should be done, the behemoth is stuffed like an 86 pound turkey.

The US of A will be none the worse with healthier food and better product regulation. Regulating poisons would also be a huge plus. Health has been neglected for too long in this country for the sake of corporate profit.

I foresee possible Bad consequences looming in the future as well, namely censorship. Consequences that may affect c99 and the internet in toto. In the past Trump had originally voiced opposition to Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1996, which will directly affect c99 and myself, which provides immunity to online platforms from civil liability based on third-party content. The former President has gone quiet since his previous opposition to Section 230 after he launched his social media platform, Truth Social.

We shall see, since the Republicans have also shown a desire to censor social media, albeit from a different angle from that of the Democrats.

There are Ugly storm clouds of war building on the horizon as well, as Trump loads his cabinet with hardliners. The European theater may quell, but the specter of the ongoing and troublesome war in the Mideast continues. Let's hope that the recent bluster emanating from certain voices in the incoming cabinet are meant to bring the antagonists to the bargaining table and not a portent of the future.

In this moment in time, I feel like the dog in this video. Let us hope to be unburdened by what may be, as the US, Israel and Iran face off in a Mexican showdown of three.

Well, it's over. For now.

What we witnessed in this 2024 election was a master class in voter manipulation. I often wonder how they do it. How they can produce an almost cult like following for two of the most flawed politicians in recent memory. How is it that so many voters can be lead by their noses to the voting booth in a fevered pitch of anxiety?

In my opinion it is done by instilling fear in the minds of the voters. Fear of the other, fear of what the opposition party may have in store if elected, fear of civil war, riots, detention camps. Fear, fear, fear. It was a constant barrage of fear, to make one yearn for a savior that will lead one to the electoral promised land.

Fear is the arrow, and the media is the bow. Those that benefit from our fear are the archers and our minds are the target.

If so, then why does fear work so well on so many people?