The Lesson of the Ukrainian/Russian War.

Stupidity at work

The reason why history is important is because without it leaders are doomed to fail and repeat all the mistakes of the past. The current war in the Ukraine with the Russian’s is the clearest example of that. In the past one-thousand years the Ukraine was always part of Poland or Russia other than a brief period during the Napoleonic wars. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 the Ukraine gained its independence and in 1994 they agreed to give up all their nuclear weapons. President Bill Clinton convinced them that their Russian neighbor would never invade them. Being a neighbor of a friendly nuclear power would be their protection if needed. So they signed a treaty with the US and Russia and left themselves defenseless against a hostile nuclear power. The moral of the story of course is never give up your weapons if you value your freedom.

John Fahey Remembered

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/952357

John Fahey the #37 greatest guitar player of the 20th century is #1 among primitive acoustic steel stringed guitar legends. From his is investigative research in the deep South during the early 1960’s to recording “City of Refuge” in 1997 John lived the life of a true blues legend. In the early 1980’s he left his 3rd wife and comfortable house to live on the streets, under bridges, cars and cheap motel rooms until his death in 2001. He was a kind, gentle, warm hearted person with a wicked sense of humor.

John Fahey July 2000

Dodge or Do the “Draft”

Soldier waiting for formation 1967

President Nixon ended the compulsory military draft in 1973 as the war in Vietnam was ending. Prior to that the draft was in place since 1948 and even during peacetime. Young men went into the military unless they had some political pull or a deferment of some kind. Even Elvis Presley was drafted and served his time as a GI. Mohammed Ali refused to serve and was stripped of his boxing title for it. The draft was something that hung over the head of every able bodied male. When body bags began arriving at Dover Air Force base an increase in the volume of anti-war protests began.

Reactions to the draft varied from complete acceptance to fleeing the country to avoid it. Bruce Springsteen said that he dodged the draft by playing up the extent of injuries from a motorcycle accident as well as acting like he was high on LSD. Arlo Guthrie (Woodie Guthrie’s son) wrote his most famous song about how he got out of the draft because of a littering citation called “Alice’s Restaurant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m57gzA2JCcM  

One guy that I went to high school with moved to Canada to avoid the draft. Sometimes people would enlist in the Army Reserves as a member of their state’s National Guard. The problem with that is having your reserve unit activated and shipped overseas anywhere from Korea and Germany to Thailand or Vietnam. The majority of young men did their duty, reported for induction and served their time.

Just because you were drafted at the beginning of the escalation of the war in 1966, like I was, didn’t mean that you were going to Nam. Take my case for example, I was drafted into the army in August 1966 which began the buildup for LBJ’s war of attrition. After basic training at Ft. Knox, Kentucky I ended up at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma for the remainder of my two-year hitch. The units that I served in had guys coming from and going to Vietnam but “there but for fortune go I.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lFPIIdud9o

Top 10 Santana Songs Podcast

Santana 2018

Bob and Willie compare their Top 10 Santana Songs on their latest podcast.

45 Seconds

77 Foot Blade on I-84 Idaho

My wife and I went on a 1500 mile round trip from Salem, Oregon to Pocatello, Idaho and back. During the six days of travel from our home to first Caldwell, then Twin Falls and finally Pocatello, Idaho we noticed a plethora of trucks carrying 77 foot wind turbine blades that were probably produced at the Portland, Oregon  Vesta plant. I timed the intervals and it averaged one every 15 minutes for the days that we were traveling. I used my stop watch to time the intervals and would photograph each truck as it approached in the opposite direction of the 80 mph I-84 and I-86 in South West Idaho.

Wind Farm in North East Oregon 2022

At the same time I noticed a proliferation of erected and functioning wind turbines in North East Oregon as we gained site of the Columbia River. It was the previous April of 2022 that we drove the same route. The augmentation of the units was apparent and could be now be called a forest.

Solar Farm in Eastern Oregon 2022

The second prong of the alternative energy program is solar energy. We only saw one solar farm shortly after we crossed the Idaho border back into Oregon. I recently watch a TV program that documented tests done on the dependability of solar and wind power. The conclusion was that if you shut off every other means of  energy including nuclear, hydro, coal, petroleum, natural gas etc. and depended on only solar and wind it would power the national power grid for 45 seconds.

Buddy Guy Top 10 Songs Podcast

Buddy Guy Podcast

Buddy Guy 2012

JD Simo

JD Simo 2022

JD Simo was the opening act for Tab Benoit at the Elsinore theater in Salem, Oregon on Thursday, September 8, 2022. He is from Chicago originally but now lives in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a raw get down psychedelic blues rock singer/songwriter/guitarist.

Tab Benoit 2022

The last time that I saw Tab Benoit perform was before the Pandemic in October 2019 at the same venue, the Elsinore theater in Salem, Oregon. Tonight on Thursday September 8, 2022 I was three years older at seventy-five and was limiting the shows that I was covering to my home in Salem, Oregon.

Tab Benoit 2022

Top 10 Fleetwood Mac Songs

I first saw Fleetwood Mac back in 1970 & 1971 during its earliest incarnations before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. Some of the history is written into the article.

Top 10 Fleetwood Mac Songs

In Front of the Front Row

Free Concerts

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1006455