Au Cochonnet Marin

“If you don’t vote, you lose the right to complain.” George Carlin

 It is as simple as that. If you are eager for changes, you must vote!

There are currently only 52 short days until the 2020 Presidential Election, and the clock is ticking.

We are now facing one of the most crucial elections of the last 50 years, and anybody who cares about democracy has the sacred duty to vote. Frankly, one ought to be penalized for shirking his civic obligation.

Protests and street rioting are not the solution. They won’t achieve much but strife and chaos. To compel lawmakers to enact any significant political and social changes, you must vote and elect people committed to reforms. Mavericks, who will truly try to improve the condition of their fellow citizens instead of preserving their own selfish interests.

“Being adequately informed is a democratic duty, just as the vote is a democratic right. A misinformed electorate, voting without knowledge, is not a true democracy.” — Jay Griffiths

Disinformation is rife everywhere. Before casting your ballot, you must be informed. Prior to trusting any bit of information, you must check its accuracy. To this effect, fact-checking websites have been created to confirm or deny any abusive allegation.

If you need to clarify an issue, you can check the UC Berkeley Library which will provide you with at least ten sites dedicated to maintaining objectivity.

We are presently dealing with the most immoral and dishonest president of the United States’ history, and we cannot trust anything he is saying.
He must be dislodged from his lair by an overwhelming majority. If we don’t, hatred and strife will ultimately overwhelm and destroy this country.

Vote by mail and vote early. Before doing this, check your voter registration status and make sure that your information is correct. Once you have cast your ballot, this office will confirm that they have received and registered your vote.

If you don’t vote, somebody else will… and the results might not be to your liking.

“Not voting is not a protest. It is a surrender.” Keith Ellison

Alain

All my life I have been told what to do. It started with my mother, then various teachers, sergeants, bosses, tax collectors, girlfriends, wives, and now… my iWatch.

Yes, my iWatch is now taking over and bossing me around. It tells me what to do… when to stand, when to exercise, what to eat, etc.  If I don’t heed the commands, I am afraid of the consequences It is kind of creepy…

Every cloud has a silver lining and this coronavirus abomination strangely ushered a bright side. Its quick propagation and deadly consequences are stimulating innovation.
“Necessity is the mother of invention” has never been truer.

All tech companies worldwide are now working overtime to come up with an app to identify and curb the virus spread. My iWatch and my iPhone will soon enter the war against COVID-19. They will tell me for instance if I am in the proximity of an infected individual, and if so, what to do and where to go.

Some events are so catastrophic that they cannot be ignored and force old foes to cooperate. In WWII, unabashed capitalistic America agreed to fight on the side of its foe, the ever reviled Soviet Union. Today, similarly, tech giants have declared an armistice and pledged to cooperate fighting the common enemy.

Sometimes I have the feeling that these new smart gadgets treat you are like a child. They are packed with so many hidden features, that most of its owners probably don’t even know about them.

Kids and women seem to be the new authorities on the iWatch. The minute they got it, they tried (and mastered) every single feature. To me, it still is a watch, albeit a smart one. It tells me the time, the ambient temperature, and when I get some e-mail.

But if you dig a little (unfortunately I am averse to manual labor) you will find plenty of goodies. For instance, if you momentarily forget your passcode, the iWatch can unlock your Mac. Nice.
It will listen to and obey Siri’s commands. It will make calls and receive messages away from your phone. It will warn you about abnormal heart rates and detect accidental falls, etc.

The problem is that if you get used to all of this, (like smart-alecky kids do) you will eventually forget everything that took years to master. If you lose or misplace your iWatch, you will suddenly feel like a fish out of water. A little bit like relying too much on your car… and forgetting how to use your legs. Baaad!

But I like tech stuff… Fortunately, I am not (totally) addicted to it and could survive without it on a deserted island. My wife who has become a Tech Guru could not.

Alain

After months at sea, USS Conqueror is finally coming close to the end of its four-year odyssey.

It has been a long, tumultuous journey punctuated by some vexing incidents. Captain Crump, a volatile commander, demands blind obedience from his crew and when upset he is quick to anger. Many of his officers, after being initially praised, were quickly dismissed.  Some judiciously kept a log to document the captain’s erratic behavior, and it is very likely that many telling books will be soon forthcoming.

Captain Crump was always regarded with suspicion by the sea-faring establishment and there had been many attempts to derail him. But the man is cunning, and he has surrounded himself by a Praetorian Guard willing to go to extremes to shield him.

As customary, there will be an evaluation of his performance; it will determine if Captain Crump should keep his job or be replaced by a more competent commander. Despite his bullish attitude, the man is clearly worried and seems to be grabbing at straws. In a time of stress, he is often seen maniacally rolling two golf balls between his fingers.

A self-proclaimed law-and-order man, he has made many attempts to befriend authoritarian skippers, but he has been regularly rebuffed or played for a fool by more seasoned autocrats. Many have laughed at him behind his back.

His misogynistic and racial insensitivity does not help. But he is determined to prevail and does not hesitate to make outrageous statements to buttress his case.

“Look at the way I have been treated lately, especially by the media. No captain in history—and I say this with great surety—has been treated worse or more unfairly.”

 To captain Crump, the end justifies the means. The truth is elastic and there are many “alternative facts” to contemplate before passing judgment. He seems to have a short memory and often denies previous recorded public statements.

Americans are generally fond of grandstanding. There is an unfounded rumor, that even if he is demoted, he might barricade himself in his ship’s CIC (combat information center) and refuse to leave.

If this happens, a thousand cameras will be there to memorialize this event. This will probably please a man known for his egocentrism and his fondness of the limelight.

In conclusion, there is no conclusion. Things will go on as they always have, getting weirder all the time.   Robert Anton Wilson

   Alain