s n a p p e r h e a d: entertaining rhetoric

Showing posts with label entertaining rhetoric. Show all posts

Memory Tool [Intermediate Edition]

Basic memory tool usage—explained in Tingle Power - Memory Tool—is a good first-step before trying this intermediate challenge. Deciphering this image relies heavily on the senility Alzheimer's dementia (sAd) Music Playlist (listening to the songs on the playlist is optional)

Begin on the boat dock ⬆

For the playlist, click this image:

The song titles are highlighted in the flow-story. Mr Oop's guidance, and the '62 logo' in the upper left corner, are not part of the story:

A boat dock is the Main Theme From A Summer Place. The cartoon character, Alley Oop, is standing in a wooden rowboat. On top of Alley Oops's club, baby Simba (from The Lion King) is The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Simba is dreaming of an old locomotive train with a crazy-'loco' look on its face: Loco-Motion. The smoke from the train forms the shape of a nun and the word Dominique. She is singing you rail-y got me (You Really Got Me) on a train track. The King Of The Road walks off the end of the railroad track. The king is flying a kite bearing an outline of a man with the word 'nowhere' is on his chest (Nowhere Man). Windy clouds blow the kite, as well as a Spooky looking parachuting hamster. The parachute's canopy is printed Thank You in mod lettering—the other side of the parachute reads: (Falettinme Feel Mice Elf Again). The shadow of the parachute falls across a prohibited sign and a pile of sugar (No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature). A highway sign, attached to the handle of the sugar scoop, reads: Changes. A long arrow on the sign becomes a fitting room sign near Father and Son T-shirts (which bear images of Mufasa and Simba and are riddled with buckshot holes). Behind the shirts stands Jenny Simons holding a shotgun. Jenny—who shit her pants in the show South Park—appears to be scared of a Seagull dive-bombing her. The seagull is Letting Go of a helium balloon's string. The balloon contains a strange face . . . inside it . . . It's a Living Thing! The thing might be afraid its balloon will pop if it hits the nearby point of a road sign indicating: Never Going Back Again. The signpost pierces thru the head of Peg Bundy (from the show Married With Children). On the end of the signpost's point is a large kernel of popcorn with the stem/flag of a musical note (Pop Music). Sitting on the note's stem is a tiny Emotional Rescue puppy. Growing out of the puppy's back is a toy taxi labelled ABA Metro Cab (Abacab). Which is causing something to Shock the Monkey on the roof of the cab. The monkey is holding a pulp magazine in its hand with the title: True Danger. Rafiki stands on the magazine holding Simba overhead, who's saying, "Hold Me Now." An altered see something say something sign, behind Simba, reads: see Something About You. The eye on the sign looks up the dress of a woman holding a 2021 calendar behind her back (Holding Back the Years). The woman is listening to a heartbeat-heart (Rhythm of Love). The rhythm runs down and vibrates a spine with the Orange Crush drink-logo on it. The spine's vertebra transform into the shape of people; the last of which is a woman driving a crazy faced golf-ball (She Drives Me Crazy). The ball is also being shocked from The Power button. A scary seal, emblazoned Crazy, sits on the waves from the button. The seal looks at a line of bloody footprints Walking on Broken Glass. On the far side of the glass, a baby (in a chain-of-life image) is beginning to stand; above the line of aging people are the Italian words Cosa Della Vita. The elderly man in the image is stooping to listen into an old rotary phone—Your Ghost is coming out of the phone's mouthpiece. The ghost is flipping the finger at an old metal Carnival toy. The globe on the top of the toy is the Real World. Behind the earth is the moon, which appears to be on a 37-day Long December page of a 2020 calendar. Standing on the top of the calendar is a weak number one struggling to lift weights (One Week). The weak #1 is thinking dark thoughts about a woman wearing a sleep mask and a PRAISE U shirt (Praise You). The woman is Dreaming and we can see a few indistinct dream images. But, we can clearly see the largest image in her dream, a meditating skeleton, Breathe. The skeleton is inception-dreaming about a prohibited sign over two child skeletons (No Children). Tipping off the top of the prohibited sign, is Asha Bhosle in a cup, wearing a bead necklace which is overflowing the cup (Brimful of Asha). Almost touching the far end of her necklace: a yogi appears to Float On air. The yogi offers pills with a Feel Good Inc label. A Crazy white supremacist with a Q-Anon shirt, MAGA hat, and assault rifle reaches for the pills. Looming behind crazy is a person's body in a Led Zeppelin shirt with a cashmere goat's head (Kashmir). He/she is preparing to hit the Trumpist with bicycle Handlebars. Balanced on one hand-grip is a large bunch of talking member berries from the show South Park, they always reply 'I Remember'. The member berries become a circle of cantaloupes (Cantaloop). One of the cantaloupes is pierced by a point of white from a Liechtenstein POP! canvas (Pop Culture). Appended above the artwork (with the same color scheme) is a Simple Math equation. Balanced on the 1+2=3 is a fermentation Mash Machine and tanks for brewing. Leaning on the equipment is a huge wooden female sheep (Would You?...). A single gravedigger climbs the ewe's back (Lone Digger). Valeria Lukyanova (Human Barbie) poses in a bikini along the handle of the digger's shovel. A blow-up-view of Val's bracelet shows Fox Mulder (from the show X-Files) and his I Want To Believe poster (Believer). Crushing the poster is a massive woman's head made-from hay with the word SOUL in her eyes (Hey Soul Sister). The forehead of the sculpture bears tire-tracks from the final object: a U-HAUL truck (Finally Moving). Painted on the truck's side-panel is Scar, the Bad Guy in The Lion King. As an invisible bonus, someone graffiti-scrawled: I Don't Want This Groove To Ever End in the dust on the top of the truck.

if you don't want this level of complexity to end:

105 art-images and their titles

deep dive into aesthetics (art & poem)

explaining 'untitled portrait of self' [chaps 1-3]

HEXGRID ⦇19 × 11⦈ ÷ 2 ≈ 105

One-hundred and five hexagon tiles. An aggregate of a little more than 900 images. Each hex in the grid is a separate artwork. Each artwork has been given its own title. If you wish to entertain yourself, for any imaginable reason, this is how to "pair a tile with its title":

Zoom in by clicking on the artwork; embiggen (ctrl +) your screen, if necessary.
Pick a tile that really speaks to you. One which grabs your attention like a unmasked shopper walking the wrong way down the aisle towards you, while talking on their phone about how they just got a vaccine (and you're certain they're too loud, young, thin, and healthy).
Relying on apophenia (say: ap-puf-FEE-knee-a) and your connection with my imagination—proclaim at the top of your voice (and, why not?..it's your house!) the first title that pops into your head.
That's its title. Good for you. Thanks for playing.
Gravitydamned difficult mode: search thru the below list of titles for one which comes close to what you just shouted out.
That's probably its real title. Great for you. Many-much thanks for playing along.
For must-be-certain completionists (or those with some free time, for any imaginable reason) write me at veachglines@gmail.com, or comment below with your pick(s) from my titles and your best guess for tile(s) double-letter label(s).

Label the eleven horizontal x-axis tiles (in a left-to-right zigzag) uppercase A - K.
Label the ten-or-nine vertical y-axis tiles (top-to-bottom) lowercase a - j.
Top-left corner = Aa; top-right corner = Ka; bottom-left corner = Aj; bottom-right corner = Kj.
Example: 'dog yelling in hzr ear" is tile Bf.

Or, easier-in-reverse, pick a title and find the tile which fits it best.
Here are the 105 titles:

⬢ octopus burglar ⬢ dog yelling in hzr ear ⬢ manta queen ⬢ fish on pig ⬢ disdainful moon ⬢

⬢ snail fish baby ⬢ goat boy ⬢ huge-eye slap turtle ⬢ fanny's deflated balloon ⬢ bark sadly ⬢

⬢ horse pleased anger ⬢ tiger dragon ⬢ alien kisses ⬢ ewok or baboon ⬢ Covid-mask shock ⬢

⬢ hear no big-jaw ⬢ ghouly ⬢ fang-dog-bitch ⬢ Māori-zombie ⬢ grin, tusks, whiskers ⬢

⬢ jack-o-businesslob ⬢ T-rex snake ⬢ crying elephant ⬢ pipe-smoke rude ⬢ goggles-girl ⬢

⬢ blind bully ⬢ groucho ducky ⬢ spaceghost bozo ⬢ skeletor's stuffed rabbit ⬢ klondyke bite ⬢

⬢ gumby pokey ⬢ anger ape ⬢ exploding chest ⬢ onetooth mitten ⬢ drown frog-girl ⬢ somber sun ⬢

⬢ the gimp in profile ⬢ snowhite window pain ⬢ whistling happy ⬢ worm apple ⬢ crying girl ⬢

⬢ Asian hair-flip ⬢ aye me bloody grill ⬢ coochy shot ⬢ two-face cry ⬢ laugh-giggles snear ⬢

⬢ spork eatin gremlins ⬢ snakes and ninja ⬢ glove bunnies ⬢ tiki mask ⬢ shh baghead ⬢ goblin ⬢

⬢ pelican Mr Ed ⬢ fat insane ⬢ chin thumbs-up ⬢ chicken foot hat ⬢ Miro tiger ⬢ pit hair ⬢

⬢ grass-skirt puppy ⬢ Māori mask ⬢ ring finger point ⬢ talking lion ⬢ nun stare ⬢ froggy aztec ⬢

⬢ bedazzled tongue ⬢ monkey pope ⬢ open-palm slap ⬢ ratty hair clown ⬢ black man's puppy ⬢

⬢ grimace fist-cuffs ⬢ LI porpoise ghost ⬢ masks eyes ⬢ nun brain ⬢ devil baseball ⬢ evilgrin ⬢

⬢ low lid podium ⬢ woman dream cat ⬢ dr stomach or square ⬢ glasses howling ⬢ pig slash ⬢

⬢ voor he's lookin back ⬢ face hands ⬢ shocked clown ⬢ frog vine ⬢ owl shock ⬢ nemo serious ⬢

⬢ mean flower girl ⬢ Divine princess ⬢ stuffed fanged elf ⬢ panic eats excitement ⬢ snakeye ⬢

⬢ bond angel shoulder ⬢ bogey bacall ⬢ bald shouting ⬢ seal human skull ⬢ ponytail penguin ⬢

⬢ odd woman hair ⬢ Picasso duckwoman ⬢ pointing there ⬢ silly goose lady ⬢ faceless robot ⬢

⬢ undergrate shadow ⬢ broke window facepunch ⬢ anime tiny phone ⬢ chicken veil ⬢

⬢⬢⬢⬢⬢⬢⬢⬢⬢⬢⬢⬢

like this, but simpler:

board

portrait

nudes

"That's not who we are" — is what it is.

I always cringe when a mature, educated, adult allows the phrase 'it is what it is' to fall out of their brain. Those five succinct words, in that order, jangle-pucker my opinion-of-you muscle like a sharp kick in the gooch. Some part of me refuses to stop thinking about, mentally investigates, attempts to further identify, and wants to maybe-hopefully come up with a better answer—to everything. So, when someone idiomatically declares 'it is whut it is'? I smell a putrefactive-proclamation! They sound like they're saying: all is futile; any further thought or discussion by anyone (which includes me) is a fuckin waste of time; case closed.

Which causes me to want to dig it up and determine why they want it buried. This fantastic article details the 2007 ubiquitous use of the phrase as witnessed by a US Army commander in Iraq.

When I hear i.i.w.i.i. my grey-matter gavels loudly on my sensibility's sounding block and I have difficulty repressing the urge to say: "I hate that phrase" or "I disagree" or (if I'm feeling kind) "I'm always confused by that statement." The new after Jan 6^th me will no longer repress that urge and I will tell you to your face that I hate that fatalistic sentence.

The equivalent idiom du jour: 'that is not who we are' has been ubiquitously uttered by President Biden, dozens of talking heads (from every political party and media outlet), as well as personal friends and neighbors.

Stop saying: "that's not who we are"! When you say it, you sound like you're either a coward with your head buried in the sand, an idiot who denies reality, or both.

Use of the "editorial we" or "royal we" is a nosism [say: Nose-is-um]. During the culmination of the Trump presidency's 'final boss battle' on Jan 6^th (the echoes of insurrectionist's chants may still be pinging and punching around inside our befuddled brainpans today) the racism, bigotry, prejudice, and in-your-face hatred of millions of white-Republican men and women was proudly on display.

That Is Who We All Are - As A Nation. Depending on your daily statements and actions, you may be able to say, "that behavior is not representative of who I, as an individual, am." (From now on, I will require you to prove it. I intend to ask everyone their opinions. Fair warning! Be prepared to defend your statements.) Because, clearly, WE as a country are a collection of hypocritical, terrible, racist, fucktards.

It is who we were before the civil war a century and a half ago.

It is who we were during the civil rights movement 60 years ago.

It is who we were when the Black Lives Matter movement began in 2013 when the murderers of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown and Eric Garner (ad infinitum up to today) were acquitted or not indited.

It is who we were last month when thousands of hypocrites waved hundreds of flags, like: blue-lives-matter (as they struck and killed Capitol Police officers); Q-Anon (as they chanted 'kill Mike Pence'); as well as the confederate battle flag and flags of the NAZI party (as they chanted U.S.A, USA).

Our hatred is not buried. It's constantly out in the open for all to see. Watch this video and learn why when you say 'it is not who we are' that you're obviously lying to yourself:

Are you now thinking: 'that is not my community'? You're fooling yourself. The vocal few are always surrounded by the silent majority in that city and in every city. For every person who rolled down their window to shout, hundreds more drove by keeping their mouth shut while they were thinking the same thoughts (which Ms Gorman's poem artfully refers to as: 'quiet isn't always peace').

The vocal few took planes, buses, trains, and pickup-trucks (chock-a-block full of a cacophony of flags) to DC on Jan 6^th—the silent millions voted for Trump twice, they still think the same racist thoughts, today and they'll vote for him a third time in four years.

more american-isms:

unfriended the old fashioned way

republican vs democrat thought patterns

how to create millions of jobs

Level 1 and 2 Thinking (with Amanda Gorman)

As summarized in Astrid Groenewegen's article on Kahneman's theory related to the human brain: we have a fast and a slow button in our decision making process. Fast (level 1) is our default mode. Our brains do not want to expend the effort to slow down, focus, or pay attention (level 2).

Want to see it at work? *Of course you don't.* Your brain's default mode has already begun to encourage you to not finish this essay! It (you) scanned ahead and suggested (thought) 'this is waay too long' or 'those speed-bump words are tripping me up'. Here's another trip wire for it . . .

If your brain has previously, repetitively, relied on confirmation bias as one of its preferred modes of level 1 shortcut decision-making—and it's inside a body with lower-levels of melanin—it may have noticed the image of a person with high-levels of melanin in her skin and is now bringing forward ...don't prefer to associate with those people... thoughts.

For the 14 people who've successfully skipped over the trip wires, Amanda Gorman read her poem The Hill We Climb at the US Presidential Inauguration of President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Maybe your level 1 decision maker has begun to fabricate an escape hatch for you? Did it say 'already watched it' - or - 'click-away and find the video clip'?

For the nine people who made it to this point: you should be proud your level 2 is not locked behind a unused rusty-dusty barrier. Congrats.

When reading Ms Gorman's poem, focus-concentrate on her intentional word choices, her rhymes, the verbal imagery. Keep in mind: she was sixteen-years-old when the Black Lives Matter organization was formed; nineteen when Trump was elected; and even though this poem may contain clichés (belly of the beast), utilize jargon (shade), and strikes a few too-optimistic chimes (for my taste) it was fantastically written, includes references to the insurrection of January 6th, and was beautifully delivered from the steps of the US Capitol—where hundreds of domestic terrorists attempted murder just two weeks before. Her poem was the most memorable words spoken, or sung, by anyone that day. Now, allow your level 2 thinking to understand the value of her words.

When day comes, we ask ourselves

Where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry. A sea we must wade.
We’ve braved the belly of the beast. We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace,
And the norms and notions of what “just” is,

Isn’t always justice.

And yet, the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow we do it.
Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken,

But simply unfinished.
We, the successors of a country and a time,

Where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves

And raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president,

Only to find herself reciting for one.

And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine,

But that doesn’t mean:

We are striving to form a union that is perfect.

We are striving to forge our union with purpose.
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man.
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us.
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another.
We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew.
That even as we hurt, we hoped.
That even as we tired, we tried.
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious.
Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division.

Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree,

And no one shall make them afraid.

If we’re to live up to our own time, then victory won’t lie in the blade,

But in all the bridges we’ve made.

That is the promise to glade, the hill we climb, if only we dare.

It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit.
It’s the past we step into and how we repair it.
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it.
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.
This effort very nearly succeeded.
But while democracy can be periodically delayed,
it can never be permanently defeated.
In this truth, in this faith, we trust,
for while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us.
This is the era of just redemption.
We feared it at its inception.

We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour,

But within it, we found the power to author a new chapter,

To offer hope and laughter to ourselves.

So while once we asked, ‘How could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?’

Now we assert, ‘How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?’

We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be:

A country that is bruised but whole,

Benevolent but bold,

Fierce and free.

We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation,

Because we know our inaction and inertia,

Will be the inheritance of the next generation.

Our blunders become their burdens.

But one thing is certain:

If we merge mercy with might,

And might with right,

Then love becomes our legacy,

And change, our children’s birthright.

So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left.

With every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,

We will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.

We will rise from the golden hills of the west.
We will rise from the wind-swept north-east where our forefathers first realized revolution.
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the mid-western states.
We will rise from the sun-baked south.
We will rebuild, reconcile, and recover.

In every known nook of our nation, in every corner called our country,
our people, diverse and beautiful, will emerge, battered and beautiful.
When day comes, we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid.
The new dawn blooms as we free it.
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.

more s l o w thinking:

and how

de-construct a poem

Toady's Crux: Pay Attention to Punctuation (and Spelling, too)

Definition of crux: The most important fulcrum-point of a complex issue on which a decision depends.

Example: Whether a visual pun is considered funny (or not) depends on a viewer's ability to quickly re-interpret relevant images into words. The crux of my visual pun hinges on knowing the difference between a frog and a toad, being aware stool is a synonym for poop, and what a toadstool is.

2:00-3:00pm, 6 Jan 2021—immediately following lame-duck-President Trump's very carefully worded speech (excitement without incitement) which was given after Trump-toady Giuliani encouraged "trial by combat"—thousands of marching flag-waivers cheered-on a core group of hundreds as they attempted a violent coup d'état of the US Capitol building.

Definition of coup d'état: French for 'strike-hit to state-government'; violent political change.

About two hours after this lame-duck-President's insurrection began (and, clear-to-all who were watching-in-real-time it was unsuccessful) Trump posted a brief video where he said:

I know your pain. I know your hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in law and order. We don’t want anybody hurt. It’s a very tough period of time. There’s never been a time like this, where such a thing happened, where they could take it away from all of us. From me, from you, from our country. This was a fraudulent election. But we can’t play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace. So go home. We love you, you’re very special. We’ve seen what happens. You see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know you how feel. But go home and go home in peace.

The crux of his message was not the 'Go Home' parts (highlights mine) but the calming: 'We Love You, You're Very Special, Others Are...So Bad and So Evil, Go...In Peace' larger section.

The next day (after rational minds began to debate The Best Way To Remove a Leader of a Failed-Coup) Press Secretary/Toady McEnany, made a verbal statement:

I am here to deliver this message on behalf of the entire White House (breath) Let me be clear, the violence we saw yesterday at our nation’s capitol was appalling, reprehensible and antithetical to the American way (breath) We condemn it, the President and this administration in the strongest possible terms (breath) It is unacceptable (breath) and those that broke the law should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law...blah blah blah unimportant-shit blah blah...

The crux of her message—whether it was a verbal faux pas or an outright condemnation of the President—requires a close examination of punctuation.

The Press Secretary starting a statement with 'on behalf of the entire White House' is very unusual. Initially, I thought this phrase was appended to the beginning because it wasn't a statement President Trump wanted delivered. I no longer think that's the case. The purpose was to set up a point-of-view switch from first-person: "I am here..." to second-person: "...the violence we saw...". The switch in POV was necessary because, otherwise, it might sound like the president was condemning himself.

When searching for the official text of this 7 Jan 2021 message, you will find it is documented:

... the violence ... was appalling ... We condemn it — the President and this administration — in the strongest possible terms ...

If a speech writer wanted an explanatory phrase (contained within two m-dashes) to be understood correctly, it would have been written:

... the violence ... was appalling ... We—the President and this administration—condemn it in the strongest possible terms ...

But McEnany read it as if it had been written:

... the violence ... was appalling ... We condemn it, the president, and the administration, in the strongest possible terms ...

Deputy Press Secretary's write press releases. It's unknown who wrote this wondrous kerfuffle, however, Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews submitted her resignation during the turmoil of these events with her own statement: As someone who worked in the halls of Congress I was deeply disturbed by what I saw today. I’ll be stepping down from my role, effective immediately.

Definition of toady: In French, flagorneuse /-r; a sycophant; a person who grovels/attempts to please for personal gain. Toady is also a common misspelling of the word today.

Dear careful reader: (who might-still be holding last month's portmanteau essay in the forefront of your mind) did you wonder why I provided the french word(s) to help define toady? If so—did you try to sound-it-out? Flagorneuse [feminine form; drop-e-add-r for masculine form] flag or neuse, flag or noose . . . the Trump-instigated domestic terrorists carried many different flags and they built a platform with a noose on the capitol grounds (reportedly, to hang Vice President Pence). Five people died. One of the dead carried the Don't Tread On Me flag as she marched to the US Capitol and later died of injuries sustained by being crushed under-foot by her fellow insurrectionists (which is a much more succinct example of irony than my "I survived shirt" essay, from last month). Allegedly, another terrorist died of a heart attack after a taser discharged in his front pants pocket while he was struggling to steal a portrait off a wall (which sounds too convoluted to be true; but self-tased testicles is funny, even though it's not irony).

more vocabulary essays:

Portmanteau & Malapropism

serendipity & irony

Ataraxia & Pennsylvanian

eglaf

Burb Bear Got My Birb Food

Black bear came into my backyard last night.

Birb feeder pole snapped-off level to ground.

Birdseed eaten, feeder beaten, suet...

bracket bent, while I and my neighbors slept.

Busy village livelong day - in starlight...

barely a sound (two nightly trains, except).

Bolder, hungrier, less reason to fear...

Beware there, bear, hunting season is here.

more Vermont stuff:

Good Day to Be a Crow

cat photo-art

Where moose tracks are rare, but hoon tracks ubiquitous

About a dozen miles south of the US-Canadian border, Montgomery, Vermont (almost-kinda translates into mountain man-of-power green mountain, which conjures *ho ho ho green giant*) contains three covered bridges, numerous signs warning motorists to be alert for moose, and a plethora of hoon tracks (see image, above). Not much else.

A few miles south of Montgomery—near the center of Montgomery Center—is a quaint hotel-restaurant called The INN (accent theirs, which conjures *the in in inn*). The INN calls attention to itself with unique signage; currently, their sign says: I CAN SPOT A JUDGEMENTAL PERSON JUST BY LOOKING AT THEM. The rest of the village: ditto the hoon tracks and watch for moose signs, no covered bridges, however.

As one continues south thru Hutchins, VT, the hoon tracks continue in prevalence, the "don't crash into a moose" signs become less-so, and there is but one covered bridge.

Another ten miles south thru Belvidere, VT, the hoon tracks begin fading, as do moose warning signs, but there are a handful of covered bridges; including the Montgomery Covered Bridge in Waterville, Vermont. [The exact number of bridges available to find/see may vary. I found one, labelled Kissing Bridge, that doesn't appear on every map because, I suspect, it's not very old. (Vermont has several named Kissing Bridge, including one in the center of Waterville).]

Also, I learned, that not all covered bridges are referred to as such, some are labelled Romantic Shelters. And it's possible that if it is a newer structure (not part of the Historical Society) or built on private land, it can only be found by lucky sightseers and observant travelers.

other Vermont to-see's:

St Albans City, Town, Bay

Lyndon Center

US Health Care if King for a Day

Dior I want to paint it

      Sounds like you think the proposed Medicare For All is the best way.
Weell—it's not the way that I'd completely re-tool the US health care system if I was king for a day, but it's a step in the right direction. In my opinion, our for-profit system is immoral and everyone who works in it is required to behave unethically.

          Sounds socialist.

          Yees. It is. Maybe you don't know the term you're throwing around like an idiot. Makes you sound stupid. Are you?

What?

Arre yoou Duumb?

          Sounds like you want to pick a fight.

          Yuup. I'm pickin' a fight with an idiot who's never had an original thought. Ever. Who bows at the alter of FOX on a daily basis, who probably was grateful to be able to stop reading books after graduation, is proud of that ignorance, and who's willing to defend that ignorance, rather than learn anything, . . . with your fist.

Soo, hit me—I won't hit you back. Instead, I intend to just call the police.

Theey'll come and arrest you for assault, and you'll begin a journey thru the US legal system. All of which can be paid for by our government. A court appointed attorney is paid a flat fee. The judge, jailers, bailiff, all get a government salary; 'course your fines will go to the government—so it's not all paid by taxes.

          Umm, you might choose to hire a lawyer who'll charge by the billable-hour. He or she will find any-and-every imaginable reason to up their price, because—by hiring them—you've declared that money is paramount and you don't want a public attorney who chose to work, to help people. If you're found guilty and go to jail—you'll still pay your lawyer anyway. Refuse to pay the tens of thousands of dollars they'll charge and they then will sue you into bankruptcy. One punch. Risk losing your job, getting a felony record and a 550 credit score.

Sounds like you are trying to make a point.

Annd. What's that point I'm tryin' to make?

Sounds to me that you think hospitals can be run like the legal system. But that has never been a thing and would never work.

Ahh bit of honest advice? Me to you? Not pickin' a fight—just sayin'—that, from now on, you should try twisting every statement you're plannin' on makin' into a question. So your last idiotic statement would be changed into: Are you sayin' the US health care system could be run like the legal system? Has that ever been a thing that's worked? Can you hear how my voice raises at the end of the sentences? That upraising tone of voice doesn't make you sound like a fool making factless-statements, it makes you sound like you're interested in learning. Get it?

          Ohh, before you say anything, I'll answer those questions. Yes. That's what I'm sayin' and yes, that system currently works in hundreds of countries. It also has worked and currently works on every US active duty military airbase, on every ship, on every post, in every Bureau of Indian Affairs hospital and clinic and in every Veterans Affairs hospital.

But that's just a ...shit... OK. How would you switch over the tens of thousands of hospitals and clinics and pharmaceutical companies and drug stores and insurance companies and ambulance companies and hell — I don't even know how many hundreds of different companies currently make stuff designed to be SOLD for health care. Are you saying all those jobs become government jobs?

Noo. Our legal system buys the products it needs. The government buys uniforms and vehicles and bullets and handcuffs. It buys land and hires construction engineers to build court houses and jails and prisons.

Are you saying the government would buy all the hospitals or build new ones of their own?

Weell — king for a day — I'd pass a law which made it illegal to profit from providing any service in any way related to health care. I'd also make it illegal to profit from the criminal legal system, which would make private prisons illegal and the only lawyers able to work in the criminal courts would be government salaried professionals.

Yea, but you didn't answer my question.

Wiith my new law it would be impossible to profit from providing health care without going to prison, so every doctor running a private practice, every clinic, to every hospital-conglomerate would have three choices: either they become a non-profit organization with set prices and salaries; or they donate their entire operation to the government who would take it over and run it like a VA hospital; or they could turn their hospital into a resort-spa-hotel for non-health care type services, which would not be banned: like elective surgeries, drug rehabilitation, autopsies, and the like.

Abortions?

Aahh. I don't know. Hadn't thought about that. Off the top of my head, all birth control is immediately free because it's health care; but, since most people who terminate a pregnancy are doing so as an elective surgery, I think that'd, mostly, not be covered. So you can add abortions to another service available at the resort-spa-hotel option.

          You said — see, I'm asking questions — the hospitals would be able to become non-profit and then they would post prices, but the government hospitals in the same town would be free, right?

          Riight.

          How would nonprofit hospitals or doctor's offices get any business? Even with posted prices and set salaries they could never compete against free.

          Buut, how do non-profit museums or zoos or civil rights organizations or medical clinics survive today? There are tens of thousands of them.

I don't know. Donations?

Yess, memberships and donations are a big part. But, I suspect the most successful ones provide a unique service not available elsewhere. A standard government VA hospital is going to triage, prioritize, schedule, and provide satisfactory health care for all. Key word there was satisfactory. Think DMV. Think police station. Think county jail. Is the picture becoming clearer?

Not a pretty picture.

Noo. I suspect that there are millions of wealthy people who'll be willing to pay an annual membership fee and then pay out of pocket for health care at a non-profit hospital in order to not stand in line and only receive the standard and satisfactory health care available to every person in the country. Just like at Disneyland, money makes it possible to not wait in line.

When you said out-of-pocket I remembered health insurance companies. Are your new laws going to make them illegal?

Absoolutely not. No company would be banned or forced out of business or seized by the government. The only thing that would happen is people or corporations who make any profit from providing any form of service related to health care would be guilty of the felony crime of intentional harm toward the greater populace, punishable by up to ten years in prison and a ten million dollar fine for each individual whom they profit from. I suspect a limited amount of non-profit health insurance companies might be created, probably affiliated with the few non-profit hospitals, but most health insurance companies would decide to re-tool to become life-home-car insurance companies.

And pharmaceutical companies?

Soo, there are already a couple nonprofit drug companies out there, but they only make generic drugs. My new law would make it illegal for any company to profit from creating a patient on a new drug, as well as selling patients they already own. The federal government will set all drug prices, not the pharmaceutical companies, so if they wanted to stay in business, big-pharma would—obviously—have to become completely non-profit. Or, they would have to separate and only work on research and production of non-health care medications. They could still profit from 'elective drugs' like recreational drug production, penis pills, vitamins.

I'm sensing a theme. Your law would mostly change executive pay, bonuses and stocks. Non-profit companies don't have stocks.

Thaat's correct. Not for profit agencies are focused on the best product for people or on people themselves. At the end of a profitable year, nonprofit organizations invest all their profits in structural improvements, logistics, expansion, or saving for a future non-profitable year. Think military—a commander doesn't get a bonus when the soldiers under their command successfully accomplish a mission.

Wheen soldiers get paid bonuses or are promised more money for more efficient killing they are mercenaries. Soldiers for hire. Or, pirates. Any job which is best filled by people with no moral code or who are not required to adhere to ethical behavior, should never be one related to providing constant and consistent health care to the entire population of a country regardless of income. My law would force that to happen. I would call it the Every Community Health Organization and the slogan would be: Every ECHO is your ECHO where you're an ECHO member.

          Why?

          Eveentually asshats will say it or hear it enough to learn the difference between your and the abbreviated form of you are. Don't ya think? King for a day!

more but different:

... using an apostrophe ...

... on socialized medicine ...

... squirrels in conversation ...

image portions by: krystina stimakovits (website)

and Marc Carpenter

Mess of Pottage (meal of stew)

not a very august wind

Excerpts from Life Without Principle, 1863, by Henry David Thoreau:

"... Perhaps I am more than usually jealous with respect to my freedom. I feel that my connection with, and obligation to, society are still very slight and transient. ... If I should sell both my forenoons and afternoons to society—as most appear to do—I am sure that, for me, there would be nothing left worth living for. I trust that I shall never, thus, sell my birthright for a mess of pottage. I wish to suggest that a man may be very industrious, and yet not spend his time well. There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of his life getting his living. ... The ways in which most men get their living, that is, live, are mere makeshifts and a shirking of the real business of life—chiefly because they do not know, but partly because they do not mean, any better. ... When (someday) we want culture more than potatoes and illumination more than sugar-plums then the great resources of a world ... (will be) drawn out, and the result ... (will be) those rare fruits called heroes, saints, poets, philosophers, and redeemers. ..."