Under The Radar

THE SLIPPERY SLOPE

Expanding Powers

endemic with all of us

IT'S NOT ABOUT PARTISAN POLITICS !!

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.. One of the blessings of our short winter days and, long winter nights, (aside from fly tying time,) is the down time for reading.
.. We read. Many folks don't read. We venture the opinion that most folks don't have a rigorous reading regime. We can only speak in an informed manner about our little village and our neighbors. Our library receives 500% more books checked out in the summer. These are visitors !
.. On the whole we are a FAT, IGNORANT AND, HAPPY national population. It's a comfortable place to be. We get to fish, sled, travel, camp, hike, etc. We have the opportunity to read books. We seldom do.

IT'S ABOUT THEM

.. We just finished a re-read of The Imperial Presidency, by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. (Link 1, Link 2.) It reinforced our foggy but real conviction that something is and, has been, amiss about the drift of our governmental system.
.. Aside from the political party polarization, which comes and goes, there has been a recent trend toward increased and unchecked presidential powers.
.. From Ike to Trump, (save perhaps Carter,) charismatic and egocentric individuals have convinced the American public to elect them.
.. We, our self, survived for over 25 years before we even entertained the thought that there was a trend toward an imperial presidency. We did note that many politicians and presidents acted in imperious ways. From local city councils and library boards to the very top there seemed to be something about the arrogance of both elected officials and their supporting bureaucrats.

IT'S ABOUT US

.. As all of us build our lives we jettison bits and pieces of less than comfortable aspects. These bits are usually the parts that allow for continuous intellectual growth. The parts we keep to ourselves are economic, emotional, leisurely, and other soothing aspects that we incorporate from our individual and cultural milieu.
.. Ours is not a culture that values self examination. It is not a culture that looks inward at so many levels. We devour escapist passions: fishing, skiing, hunting, surfing, lounging, swimming, sports gawking, boating, texting, golfing, bowling, sex, cooking, gluttony, etc.
.. We eschew self examination, cultural scrutiny, social analysis, governmental surveillance, or anything that could interrupt our comfort. This has allowed those with a comfort zone that demands power, dominance, luxuriance addictions, unfettered freedom of action, larceny, to range freely in our society. From the scourge of juvenile delinquency to the horror of gang violence to the freewheeling and unfettered rampage of governmental personages there is an absolute lack of citizen involvement at any meaningful level.

THE RESULTS OF IMPERIUM

.. Voting two hours once a year or four hours every four years is a guarantee of poor government. Griping, whining, praising, cheering during the rest of the time hardly qualifies as participant democracy. This lazy form of democracy allows the erosion of accountability for our politicians.
.. This is a cultural trait of our society. It was a cultural trait of Rome, Athens, Sparta, Egypt, mid century Germany, mid century China, mid century Russia, and so many others.
.. This is not a partisan issue. You can pick your devil. We would suggest that it is a worthwhile use of our enormous "leisure time" to investigate this trend and explore our personal commitment to involvement.

RESOURCES

>> Unconstitutional Power,
>> Imperial Obama #1,
>> Imperial Obama #2,
>> Imperial Bush #1,
>> Imperial Bush #2,
>> Surprised by The Imperial Presidency,
>> Imperial Trump #1,
>> Imperial Trump #2,
>> Imperial Trump #3,
>> Progress Texas,
>> Ukraine On Fire.

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..  Well it's another "Melt Day." And, it follows a minor dump of about 6" it also precedes an anticipated dump of 12".
.. We're pleased with the high country accumulation and a little wary of the mid altitude melting.
.. After some shoveling of the white stuff we're off to the gossip rounds. The town is about full and, sled heads are busy in the mountains and, skiers are ripping up the trails and, turons are riding giant couches to Old Faithful.
.. There's vittles to prepare, (praise the freezer.) There's indoor chores, (ugh,) needing done. And then, flip a coin and decide between a book or some flies to tie.

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WALLPAPER:  GOLDEN WHITE LOAF

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Pick A Season

WELL, HERE WE ARE

It's February Second

it was 37 degrees yesterday

A VERY GENTLE WINTER . . . SO FAR

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.. Black ice mornings. High country snow pack slowly building. Rivers running off. Folks walking around town. Sunshine periodically. Cloud layer thin. Fog in the morning. So much fun.

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WALLPAPER:  RIB AND BEANS

Just One More

ANOTHER MAK FLY

Cute Little Thing

neighbors using it now

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 MORE ENTERTAINMENT

.. The neighbor kids down the block are on a YouTube tear. They keep us entertained with contemporary insight and gifts of fluff. Thanks folks.
.. This midge pattern grabbed them in the soft parts and they are fishing it right now down Between The Lakes.

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.. Another day of melt down: 35°F is not our typical late January number. Should have a couple more days of tropical heat before the February freeze hits. We'll see what goes down.

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WALLPAPER:  MEATBALL BREAKFAST

Winter Entertainment

MORE FROM MAK

For Worm Fans

typical visitor video too

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.. Just a little red thing to add to the worm conversation. This is an easy and simple pattern. It can be tied larger than mentioned and, one of our neighborhood fishers is tying in size 4 and 6. Could this replace the San Juan sort of worm? We'll see in a few months.

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.. Here's a time waster for when the pizza delivery is running slow or you have a late night moment. A brief remembrance of last summer and, visitors trying to cherry-pick the best of the Madison River.

..

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WALLPAPER: SOME ITALIAN MEATBALLS

The Paradox Of Choice

NEED ANOTHER ROD ?

Which One ?

maybe get two ?

WALLPAPER:  A WONDERFUL SELECTION

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"The paradox of choice is an observation that having too many options to choose from, rather than making people happy and ensuring they get what they want, can cause them stress and engender problematic decision-making."

PICK A ROD, ANY ROD

.. Here we are in mid winter and it's warm. Snow is coming and melting at the same time.The mind wanders to springtime fishing and what gear to get ready. We think about our hoard of rods, reels, lines, flies and other accouterments that need to be readied for the opening.
.. Aha! Selections in this day and age are greater than ever. We think that there are more types of gear than at any other time in history - certainly more than in recent memory.
.. What a wonderful world. Enormous amounts of gear and accessories. Enormous amounts of manufacturers. Enormous amounts of vendors. Enormous amounts of experts. Enormous amounts of destinations and locations. Zowie - boy we are blessed!

Autonomy and Freedom of choice are critical to our well being, and choice is critical to freedom and autonomy. Nonetheless, though modern Americans have more choice than any group of people ever has before, and thus, presumably, more freedom and autonomy, we don't seem to be benefiting from it psychologically, ( — quoted from Ch.5, The Paradox of Choice, 2004)

.. We see this frequently. Which one to buy. How much to spend. Maybe we should think about it for a while. We'll ask the neighbors. We'll ask the counter help. We'll search the web. We'll read a book or two. Etc., etc.

PICK A REEL, ANY REEL

.. From 'Choice Overload' to 'Buyer's Remorse' there is a range of anxieties that can result from our selection of gear. Hell, there is even the on stream penis fly rod envy. The glance askance toward the tackle in the parking lot, the walk to the stream, and other opportunities.
.. We even note the concept, (rapidly growing over the last decade,) that 'BETTER' gear makes a better fisher. To cite the photographer's insight. "Question: what camera is the best camera? Answer: the one that's in your hand!)
.. Better fishers are made by fishing. Better casters are made by casting. Long ago, (in San Diego,) we saw a famous fly fisher cast the full length of a fly line by using a plumber's friend, (that bathroom plunger we all know and love.)
.. We would suggest that all of us have all the gear that we need. We often wonder if we confuse what we need with what we want. Ah, the curse of affluence!

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NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS

.. We have mud instead of packed snow leading into the winter fishing spots. The combination of snow, rain and high mid day temperatures provides goop on the trail and slush on the roads. Of course, night time temperatures bless us with some black ice and slick roads.
.. The mid day rush to the grocery store and the Post Office is a wonder to behold. Folks are even walking around town and, of course, some kids are wearing short pants. The high country snow pack seems to be building and avalanches are frequent.

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WALLPAPER: GENTLE CARAWAY RYE

Participation Government

TAKE THE TIME

Call Your Senator

if you even know

WALLPAPER:  ALL IN

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.. Public participation in the impeachment trial is a simple thing. Just call your senator and express your opinion. Believe it or don't: the truth is that senators take account of the opinion of constituents that take the time to call.

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WALLPAPER:  BEEF WITH VEGETABLES SOUP

A Week Of Warm

IF SNOW COMES

We'll Take It

end of january ??

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.. This is a wonderful gift from the weather gods. As long as we get a couple of inches, (or more,) each day the snow pack up high will be adequate.
.. The fishing neighbors are fishing, the sledheads are sledding, the shoppers are shopping and, a few school kids are wearing shorts. Life is good.

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WALLPAPER:  RIB STEAK WITH APPLES, POTATOES & AND BUTTER