STATE ON CONFUSION

  I drive a ten year old car and a 30 year old truck. I've spent the last week trying to get my car inspected. Because the truck was made before computers it's an easy pass. The car is another issue. It used to be, even if you drove a smoke coughing clunker you could always find a mechanic who would kick the tires, beep the horn and for an extra $20 slap on a sticker. That was before the government got involved. These days if your check engine light is on (and mine always is) you are in for some time and money. Get ready for government intervention.
    Every car made today has a computer. And every garage licensed to inspect has a computer also. This computer is hooked up to the state computer. There's no getting around it anymore. Big Brother is in your back pocket. If the state computer doesn't allow it the local grease monkey has no power to issue you a sticker. Even when you do everything the computer tells you to do you then have to drive around aimlessly until the computer resets. It may be 10 miles. It may be 100 miles. No one knows. As of this writing I'm still illegal, and I'm out of gas.

Last night I fell asleep during President Obama's State of The Union Address. This morning I got the high points. In a nutshell- he's ready to poison our wells in search of natural gas and pass a lot of laws restricting guns. And this is our "HOPE" for the future? I can't believe I'm saying this, but he could be worse than the Republicans. Another case in point is NY's Democratic Gov. Cuomo's S.A.F.E. act- a group of gun laws rushed though, without due-process. One extreme provision outlaws 10 shot magazines (that are standard issue in all semi-automatic handguns) in favor of a non-existent 7 shot clip.  There is some confusion as to what exactly is breaking the law: more than 7 bullets in the clip or the capacity. If it is the capacity of the clip in your gun that determines your legality, then it immediately makes thousands of handguns in NY illegal. Cuomo has now put more illegal firearms on the street than any gun runner in history.
    The other issue that Obama and Cuomo have in common is "fracking". Obama, in his frenzy to release us from foreign oil, constantly cites the abundance of natural gas and his willingness to drill for it. Cuomo has put the decision by NYS to grant permits to the gas companies on hold, but everyone  feels he's gonna give the go-ahead and lift the moratorium that is now in place. There's no getting around it. The Catskills will be effected.
    As I sit in my little corner of paradise, waiting for the computer to reset on my clunker, I contemplate the future. A future of re-applying for my pistol permit, hiding my illegal firearms, driving without inspection stickers, stockpiling ammunition, and trying to find away to stop billionaires from raping my mountains and streams, so my great nieces and nephews can enjoy what I've enjoyed. As a camel passes by my window and two ostriches chase each other through the snow, a shadow crosses the hillside. I hear a high pitched whine. Damn, is that a drone?