Bill Cook visited the CalamityPolitics studio for Episode 3 of the Mushroom-Cannabis Chronicles. Bill joined Dave Shadrick to explore the spirituality of mushrooms. The boys are smiling as they discuss the centuries old experience.
While I was looking through my video library I stumbled onto this little montage of photos my granddaughter, Amber, put together nearly a decade ago of my dog Lily, and her kitten, Inara. Amber then posted her work on YouTube. It’s just a bit long, but so is the song. So, here folks are Lily and Inara, performing their love story to Shaun Smith’s version of ‘Ain’t No Sunshine (WhenYou’re Gone)’. Pretty cute. It brought a smile to my face and smiles are a damn good thing. Hope it makes you smile too.
**My dog Lily passed three years ago. I still miss her. And Inara, is grown up now and is as spoiled as ever.
The game of Pickleball is sweeping the U.S.A. and Canada
Just A Little Help
It was 2017 when I decided to start the www.calamitypolitics.com website. I asked “Computer Jane,” my techie friend for some help. Actually, a whole lot of help. She of course was cool, except she refused to give up her “pickleball time.”
Pickleball?
Pickleball? What’s that? I asked. Her response, “it’s sort of like a mix of ping pong, badminton, and tennis; but played different. It’s a whole lot of fun.”
Tell Me More
Pickleball is played on a court 1/4 the size of a tennis court. Like in tennis, players serve, volley and hit ground strokes but pickleballers use a solid surface paddle and a perforated plastic ball. All serves must be underhanded. Games are played to 11 points. To win, however, there must be a two point spread. Points can only been won if you are serving.
Die Hard Fans
This fun, fast paced, low impact and easy to play game has made 5.8 million Americans and Canadians die hard fans. The pandemic did nothing but accelerate the game’s popularity. Jane tells me she thinks the small court increases socialization and ups the action which she swears helps her stay in shape.
The Funny Name
I looked this up. Co-inventor, Joel Pritchard claims the name came from the term “pickleboat” in collegiate crewing. A “pickleboat” is defined as a boat filled by random rowers that were not selected for competitive races. Fitting since pickleball is a game combining bits and pieces of other games.
Terminology
Dillball: Incoming ball that has bounced once.
Dink: A soft arching shot hit on a bounce inside the kitchen.
Falafel: A shot hit without any force.
Flapjack: A shot that must bounce before being hit.
Kitchen: The 7 foot no-volley zone near the net.
Pickled: Scoring zero points in a game.
Where To Play?
To find a Pickleball court near you check out Places2play.org.
Five Tips For First Time RV Renters
Try an RV
After a couple years of COVID-19 lock down, masking, and social distancing, Americans are ready to move. Everyone I talk to is going somewhere, anywhere, this summer. If you are considering renting an RV and hitting the U.S. highway I guarantee you will have a great time and a totally unique experience. My Uncle Norman had a lovely Class A motorhome and he used to take me and my dog Lilly along on many of his adventures. Here are a few things I learned from those days.
Big to Small
Class A: Basically means large and luxurious. Despite being the size of a bus most do not require special licensure to drive.
Class C: Smaller than the Class A vehicle, the Class C rigs offer good space and are easier to drive than their larger cousins. They frequently have a front end that looks like the cab of a van or pickup truck.
Class B: Are the smallest and are often called “camper vans”. These vehicles are short on space and can feel a bit cramped but for those of us sick of social distancing, a Class B vehicle might be just what we’re looking for. These RV’s are easy to drive and park and have good fuel economy.
How About Towing?
Although you give up space, travel trailers are usually cheaper to rent. Fifth wheel trailers can be quite nice but require a truck with a special tow hitch to haul. One of the benefits of towing your housing is that you can detach your truck to run around once you’ve reached your destination. A big disadvantage is that while traveling you will lose passenger space, no passengers are allowed in a moving trailer.
Campsite Tips
When reserving a campsite ask for a “pull through” site. You might pay a couple dollars extra but you won’t have the challenge of backing into your assigned space. Also, if you can, get a paved site. Paved sites tend to be more level and require fewer vehicle adjustments.
Connections
Water, electric, and sewer hookups are typical at private campgrounds. Larger campgrounds with showers and restrooms eliminate the need to hook up your RV’s water and sanitation system.
Going to Grandma’s
If you plan on visiting a friend or relative and intend to stay in your RV while parking in a neighborhood, make sure you check local rules and regulations. Many cities and Homeowners Associations forbid such visits. If you can legally visit and stay in the RV you will need a generator to run a power cord from the house. Electricity from a standard outlet may not power your A/C.
Bill Cook stopped by the Calamity News and Politics studios to talk to Dave Shadrick about his experience growing commercial cannabis in Oregon. Its been an up and down ride for producers in Oregon. Take a few minutes and listen to what Bill had to say about the highs and lows of growing weed in Oregon.
Ladies,
If you loved “365 Days” and couldn’t put down the “50 Shades of Grey” trilogy, I promise you’re going to love “Chasing the Spider” by D.S. Mitchell. “Chasing the Spider” is available on Amazon. Continue reading
Editors Note:
The Trump Town Hall on CNN the other night, had the hair on my arms standing up and I felt a deep visceral anger and disgust I haven’t felt since Trump was president. With that disgust of everything Trump renewed, I was prompted to go back and revisit numerous calamitypolitics.com articles from Trump’s first few months in office.
Listen folks, all you need to do is read the newspaper to know Trump is a bad dude. He is a shameless narcissist, a fake and a liar, a sexual predator, a grifter, a tax fraud, among many other proven things, but most importantly he is a real threat to our democracy. Now here he comes again, after fomenting an insurrection, asking us to give him a second chance to bring down the damn government. It’s happening in Israel, Hungary, and Turkey. It could happen here. We must stop Captain Chaos. Donate to the re-elect Biden-Harris 2024 presidential campaign.
Back in 2016
Millions of people across the country were deeply disturbed and shocked in 2016 after the Electoral College determined Donald J. Trump to have been elected president of the United States. Many protested in the streets, some like me took to the computer to Resist the insanity of a TV huckster and an absurdity like Donald Trump becoming president.
By D.S. Mitchell
A Real Train Wreck
Anyone that knows me knows my total disgust of anything and everything, Trump. So, some may wonder why I would waste an hour watching the CNN Donald Trump Town Hall last night. Frankly, I just wanted to confirm that all the character traits that originally made me loath the man were still applicable. I didn’t need the hour to confirm my original assessment, but I hung around, just because as with all train wrecks it’s hard to look away.
Friendly Audience
He had a handpicked pro-Trump audience in New Hampshire. The crowd laughed and cheered at his attacks on E. Jean Carroll who had just the day before, won a $5 million lawsuit against the ex-president for sexual assault and defamation. Hopefully, Ms. Carroll isn’t done yet because this guy hasn’t learned anything about defamation. I believe she has grounds for a second defamation case against the disgraced, twice impeached, pro-sexual assault, ex- president.
A Vivid Reminder
If nothing else, last night gave us a vivid reminder of what another term of a Donald Trump presidency would look like. I don’t know about anyone else but I’m way, way, past the chaos, shame, hatred, cruelty, lies, corruption, and total dysfunction this man brought to the White House. I’m ready to see this aberration gone into the dark night, never to be seen or heard from again.
BAN
$787.5 Million For Dominion
The Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit cost Fox (News?) $787.5 million big ones. If it sounds huge, it is. In fact, it is by far the largest defamation settlement in the history of the planet. Prior to the Fox-Dominion case, the largest defamation payout was for $177 million, in a 2017 case between ABC News and Beef Products Inc., a South Dakota meat processing company.
Five Factors To Prove Defamation
Five factors must have occurred to prove defamation. 1.) Publication of false information. 2.) The person, or in this case entity, Dominion Voting Systems, was specifically identified by Fox and its commentators. 3.) The remarks had a negative impact on the person or the entity’s reputation. 4.) The information disseminated (by Fox) was false and they knew it was false (reckless disregard). 5.) The defendant (Fox) is at fault, having published the lie for public consumption.
What Exactly Did Fox Do?
First and foremost, Fox and its on-air crew (Carlson, Hannity, Ingraham, and multiple others) repeatedly lied to their viewers. Despite information to the contrary, day after day, night after night, they repeated the lies, claiming Dominion Voting Systems had switched or credited votes illegally to Joe Biden. An intoxicated, red faced, Rudy Giuliani, a mentally disturbed Sydney Powell, and that weirdo Pillow Guy were on Fox every night pushing the lie that Donald Trump had won the 2020 presidential election with zero pushback from the commentators.
Nasty Secrets Revealed
As the trial date drew near, the cable news airwaves were filled with jaw-dropping leaks of emails between the folks at Fox. The texts and emails from the king of bullshit, and Fox’s biggest star, Tucker Carlson, stunned me. The shock came when I realized this SOB was even more disgusting in real life than I had imagined possible. Behind the scenes Tucker was like a rabid dog going after everyone from Donald Trump, to his boss, Rupert Murdoch.
‘Antifa Kid’
The large number, and the toxic content of Tucker’s emails were truly outrageous. In one particularly egregious email he “prayed” for the killing of a protester being attacked by a group of white supremacists. Now that is sick. On 1/7/2021 Carlson sent a text message to his producer telling him about his visceral response to the video. In the video three or more white men were filmed attacking an ‘Antifa kid.’ Carlson said he wanted the victim to be killed. After some thought Tucker decided that was ‘deeply wrong.’
"If puppies and kittens don't make you smile, you might consider therapy." D. S. Mitchell 2015.
Self-isolating has forced us to turn even more to telecommunication and social media.
The Major Cause Of Sex Trafficking Is Poverty
Many great charities, here are a couple that I support: Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, ACLU, and Planned Parenthood.
