Occupation of Independence

I couldn't believe the repair shop invited me into their work area where my van was up in the air.  That is only the second time in my RV-traveler career when a shop allowed me into their inner sanctum.  The young mechanic showed me that the aftermarket part I had ordered online was not going to fit my van. He was so professional and so young!  How had he even lived enough years on this earth to pick up all his skills and knowledge?  Normally I don't think about being impressed with people's jobs.  Perhaps that is because I think in terms of meaningless office work in giant corporate or government bureaucracies. But guys who actually know how to do things, how to fix things, are so impressive. That repair shop will definitely get my business again when I loop through Grangeville ID next year.   They didn't even charge me anything.  I insisted on paying something, so the manager let me tip the mechanic $20.  Finally the manager had an educational discussion with me about

  At a place where I would have least expected it, a NAPA auto parts store, I saw some survival equipment such as knives, hatchets, and a "survival spear".  Imagine that! It was about 3.5 feet long.  Rather heavy.  No lithium batteries required.  The ultimate in "tactical" equipment!   Just imagine running naked through the forest, jabbing and stabbing prairie dogs, chipmunks, and ... grizzly bears.  The only thing that ruined this primal fantasy was the unwieldiness of this survival spear when carried on a mountain bike. After the rain ends I am headed for "Montanee."  Consider this fair warning to any grizzly that is fool enough to challenge Primitive Man and his miniature poodle.

  I have hardly ever camped in Montana.  What a shame!  A gigantic state ignored.  Of course Montana is not as big as it looks on the map because the eastern half is probably too low and hot in mid-summer. Two summers ago I made a noble effort to correct this oversight.  I ended up on the northern edge of the Yellowstone ecosystem.  I drove past warning signs about grizzly bears and felt uncomfortable camping there.  Ursaphobia is something that one must overcome in order to camp in Montana. Most of the grizzlies are found in or near Glacier and Yellowstone national parks and the corridor between them. I have bear spray, but have considered a handgyun as well.  The handgun project is probably nothing more than a thought experiment.  Target practice is noisy and expensive.  Could I really hit a charging grizzly in the brain with a handgun?  At least with bear spray, you don't have to aim very well.  Of course shooting bear spray upwind will not be pleasant. During the handgun though

Who actually runs the Democrat Party in the US?  Do you know?  I wish I did.  For the sake of argument let's say that the DNC runs it. (the Democratic National Committee.)  They are at a critical time right now.  Let's pretend to be a highly paid political consultant, hired by the DNC to help their side.  What would your advice be right now? My advice would be to pull the plug on the Ukraine debacle and  instruct their minions in the corporate media to simply ignore the topic from now until the election.  Is this even practical?  I used to think it wasn't. But nobody talks about the Afghanistan debacle anymore.  Nobody talks about the destruction of the Nordstream pipeline.  Old news becomes ignored remarkably quickly.  If news about Ukraine disappeared suddenly, it would leave quite a vacuum.  But there is always something to fill the vacuum. Start with the obvious: another indictment of Trump.  The DNC's job is to move the news over to the right "lead story.&quo