Live from a white spot in a purple nation on a blue planet...

Just got the news from Hillary:

Yesterday, we lost a colleague, a friend, an inspiration, and a champion for all of us. I am deeply saddened by the death of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. She was my friend and my sister. She made me laugh, smile and fired up my spirit when I needed it most.

Thus begins the canonization of one of the most unimpressive Democratic partisans of the modern era.  Bought by the abortion lobby, sold on globalization ("free" trade and the UN), and not real supportive of much else, this political operative will go down in history as the footnote she is.

I mean, really, what good was she?  She wasn't a leader, unless you count a seat on the "Ways and Means" committee a leadership trait.  Well, Hillary can have her "Wellstone Memorial," I suppose, but it's going to be the memorial for the last of a dying breed: the Clinton inner circle of loyalists.  After all, didn't I hear that Obama picked his VP?

This is the karmic justice that the attention-seeking Clintons and their flamboyant supporters will receive: In death they will be overshadowed, and in history, they will be forgotten.

Perhaps we, as freedom advocates and fiscal conservatives, have missed the bigger picture.  Maybe there is a reason the deficit keeps getting bigger.  It is being done on purpose.  Sifting through the expansive online archives of Time magazine, I discovered this gem from December 31, 1965, titled "We Are All Keynesians Now."

First the U.S. economists embraced Keynesianism, then the public accepted its tenets. Now even businessmen, traditionally hostile to Government's role in the economy, have been won over—not only because Keynesianism works but because Lyndon Johnson knows how to make it palatable. They have begun to take for granted that the Government will intervene to head off recession or choke off inflation, no longer think that deficit spending is immoral. Nor, in perhaps the greatest change of all, do they believe that Government will ever fully pay off its debt, any more than General Motors or IBM find it advisable to pay off their long-term obligations; instead of demanding payment, creditors would rather continue collecting interest.

Forty-three years later, we are facing nine trillion dollars in debt, a debt crisis, collapsing urban centers, and the collapse of the dollar.  Time magazine made this analysis right after the "Great Society" started, but what about the follow up?

Where were the four decades of analysis?  Why did Time and the MSM take a pass on examining this grand era of government interventionism?  The truth is that the results haven't been as grand as they were in 1965.  IBM is selling divisions to the ChiComs, GM is making junk in China, and the American taxpayer has been saddled with an enormous national debt, with payments to match, as he watches his house value drop and his job get exported to Vietnam.

Are we all Keynesians in 2008?  No, but too many of us are.  Business people, petty officials, and economists think inside the box.  They come up with "partnerships" and programs that promise to fix all our ills, but the only thing that increases is government power.  After 43 years, it is time to revisit this cancerous legend and see whether Lyndon Johnson sold us national greatness or a great disaster all those years ago. 

Running a national tab hasn't been such a smooth ride for us as a nation, as Time promised so many years ago.  We're broke and getting more so.  What if Keynes was wrong?  Do we have the moral courage to take the rose-colored glasses off, or do too many people have too much invested in the current system to allow such a sea change?  Only time will tell, but the results of maintaining the current system will drown us in a sea of red ink.

An interesting part of $4 gas culture is observing how many motorcycles are on the road these days.  Admittedly, I never payed a whole lot of attention to such things before I got a bike, but it's interesting to see.  I regularly pass 15-20 bikes in morning rush hour.

It's funny, though, to see how bike culture has changed.  When I was young, I remember that it was split into BMW snobs, rice-burner types, and Harley-Davidson gang wannabes.  The Beamers and Gold Wingers were always listening to the radio, the Jap bike riders would wave to each other, and the Harley Riders ignored everyone else.  I can still remember riding somewhere with my dad at about 12, and I asked him why a Harley rider hadn't returned a wave. 

What a difference fifteen years makes!  The BMW/Gold Wing "cowling 'n' cruising crowd" is still a bit oblivious to the other riders, but the HD crowd is a lot friendlier.  They'll return a wave, and they'll chat at stoplights.  The funny part is, most of them ride a Harley for show, but most of them still have that one rice burner they started on back in the garage.  It's amusing to hear that Harley rumble pull alongside, expecting to get ribbed for a bike that whines, purrs, and pops, and then I end up meeting a guy who says, "I have a bike just like that back at the house."

That's not to say that everyone from the Harley universe is fine with coexisting, but things have definitely thawed.  From my perspective, it's easy to see why.  The new traffic stats are in, and car deaths are down, but motorcycle deaths are up by a pretty sad sum.  From that perspective, every new motorcycle commuter is one less oblivious "cage" driver.

It's sad to have to look at things in such a perspective, but I realize why bikers look at car drivers the way they do.  The other night, I got hit by a lit cigarette.  The night before that, a minivan jumped into my lane and we were running parallel in the same lane, side by side...only inches apart...before he realized I was there.  Then, there was the time I almost got creamed by a Denali by a soccer mom on a cell phone in a gas station parking lot.

Traffic friction is nothing new, but it gets really dangerous when you lose your 2000-pound safety net.  Most newer bikers are just discovering this for the first time, as I am.  It's different being on the receiving end of driving near someone who is applying make-up, reading a newspaper, eating breakfast, or doing the cell phone thing while driving a sheet-metal battering ram.

It's good that the older bikers are being so friendly to the new kids, like me.  It would be nice if the rolling palace crowd would get onboard, but the best thing would be if drivers would roll down the windows, put the cell phones away, and turn off the "beating heart" subs. 

Some of us are cutting back on our energy consumption and having a little fun while we do it.  It's also funny how many Obama stickers are on new SUV's.  So much for reducing your carbon footprint, you fakers!  The McCainiacs are great, too...crabby sedan drivers who don't use turn signals.  If you can't cut your energy use, Republicans, or you can't reduce your carbon footprint, Democrats, at least you could drive safely.

So, next time you get on the road, forget that bomber sticker.  Instead, shut off the A/C, open the windows, get some fresh air, and drive safely.  Look for those single headlights, listen for the wind-down of a bike exhaust, and give that guy on the cafe racer a little room.  You may just save a life.

In response to the Obamanation's demands that his people slave away like a bunch of WPA partisans, I have assembled some marketing materials that will be appropriate.  Team Obama, feel free to use them at no charge.

Oh, ok.  I'll just write about bees, butterflies, and how great Obama is.  Jeez, dude, like I even care what you think.  My bad.  Anything else you want me to write about?

No offense, but you're a trucker!  Do you like all those weight restriction, state cops, and weigh stations?  Yeah, well just think of meter maids as a car driver's "weigh station" enforcer, and you'll get the picture.

But, I know this is your crusade, so have at it.  Just remember that with each one of your numero uno top blog posts bashing me, I'll be laughing my butt off at how you have to bash me to get there.  For what it's worth, you're welcome.  If I get to bash a meter maid and give your life some special meaning at the same time, I feel my karma has balanced out. 

Hint: If you post today and it gets voted, you can get three days' running of milking my entry to get a top blog.  Just a thought. That's major cool points, man...