I'm heading for the Thunder Basin National Grassland, and Dry Creek Ranch in Campbell County, Wyoming- the ranch I grew up on. I have family I've missed for a long time. After all these years, the front door will be unlocked, and I can let myself in if no one's home when I get there. You know all that, "Desperado- why don't you come to your senses. You've been out ridin' fences, for too long now..." shit? Well my feet are cold, it's winter time, the sky won't snow and the sun won't shine. It's hard to tell the night time from the day. And I just want to go home for a couple of days.

SWAT team leaves assault rifle behind

AP- updated 3:27 p.m. MT, Sun., Nov. 23, 2008

SALT LAKE CITY - A member of Salt Lake County's SWAT team left an M4 assault rifle in front of someone's home after leaving the scene of a standoff in the township of White City.

Salt Lake County Sheriff's Deputy Levi Hughes says the gun was left by a veteran member of the SWAT team who forgot the weapon in the grass while packing up gear after the standoff ended.

A homeowner found the rifle in the front yard of a house a few hours later and notified authorities. Hughes says an officer on patrol stopped by the home and recognized the rifle as a weapon belonging to the SWAT team.

Your friends in Moscow say Barack won't be able to change anything, because the powers behind him are the same powers that were behind Bush. You make a case for the defense industry needing war, and state that the only country left for the US to fight is Russia. You remind me that other Americans working toward change, the Kennedys and Dr. King, were assassinated for their efforts. You conclude that you wish to believe Barack and his administration will actually be able to do something, and you ask what I think.

Barack's transition team is reviewing Executive Orders issued by Bush 43 as you read this. Shortly after the inauguration 20 January, our new President Obama will rescind and modify many of his predecessor's Executive Orders. Barack's first priority will be the global economy. Our markets are off 30%, but the Russian stock market has lost 60% of its value, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has strongly criticized the United States for sucking the world economy into recession. Barack enjoys a Democratic majority in both our House of Representatives and the United States Senate, thus, 2 of the 3 branches of our government will put their backs into the task of global economic well being.

Dmitry is going to like Barack. President Medvedev uses an iPhone, while Barack is a Mac man. Our Presidents are going to find much more common ground to agree on in the years ahead. Even Prime Minister Putin is going to be impressed with our new President Elect, and find him to be a persuasive and cogent negotiator. They will find they can trust Barack's humanity. He is a father and his first concern is for the welfare of his children, and I'm sure Russians love their children just as passionately as us earthlings residing in the US.

My friend Islam Suzarukov walked past as I write this. Russians compete very well in a capitalist system, at least my friend has. He owns a transportation business in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that has set the standard for quality in that service industry here. I welcome his competition because it makes us all better. We have mutual respect for each other's intelligence and integrity.

You told me yourself you had faith in the internet to form international relationships between individuals with the same mutual respect I enjoy with Islam Suzarukov. My friend John Barlow founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation because he believed the internet was the most democratizing technological advancement of our time, personally empowering individuals to change the nature of their respective Nation States. We are intellectual mutants of the Electronic Renaissance, you and I, and capitalizing on an informed, unified electorate helped us put Barack in the White House. His text, early Wednesday morning after McCain's concession said, "You won this election," and signed off simply, "Barack." I took it personally even though I know his message was replicated millions of times to supporters across America.

Thomas Jefferson thought a Constitutional Amendment abolishing our Electoral College was inevitable, "to have no electors, but let the people vote directly, and the ticket which has the plurality of the votes of any State to be considered as receiving thereby the vote of the State-" Pravda rejoiced in, "The end of 8 years of hell!" Bush wasn't elected, he was appointed by the United States Supreme Court in 2000. His opponent won the popular vote, but our Electoral College, an artifact of Federalist aristocracy, has decided our elections for over 200 years. The US Supreme Court gave Bush 25 disputed electoral votes from Florida.

The democratic principles of our Republic were compromised in the 2000 election, and the entire world suffered as a consequence. The hope of the 2008 election is that the democratic principles Jefferson architected into the United States Constitution with Articles of Amendment also allowed the United States to speak with a unified voice and popular mandate to change the political and diplomatic course of our nation immediately. You asked, "Why do you think we all should REALLY feel hopeful now? Not only because he quotes Jefferson, I hope..." In his first inaugural address, Thomas Jefferson states, "All too will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression." We, the people of the minority opinion in 2004, spoke out, networked, organized, and unified into a single voice for change in 2008 shouting, "Yes we can!"

Your President Medvedev participated in the world economic summit last week. Restoring the prosperity of our global economy is our first priority. Resolving differences over a defensive missile shield in Europe will be smoother after we tackle our economic problems. Protecting Russia from rouge missile attack with that system is on the table now that we don't have old school CIA toe to toe with old school KGB negotiating our collective future. Precedent exists in our standing missile treaties that test telemetry is transmitted in the clear. That would insure Moscow our defensive missiles are doing just that, and nothing untoward. When the first successful defensive missile test destroyed its incoming target missile almost 30 years ago, I was standing next to the Chief of Guidance Systems of the Ballistic Missile Office. He looked like he had just given birth. It was the first step in making offensive missiles obsolete in our world.

Neither of our countries can afford more armed conflict in this global economic crisis. You ask if our new President, "will actually change everything and change for the better." Change is a Universal constant. Can we change for the better? Yes, we can.

Because of Grateful Dead's Bob Weir, and his lyricist John Barlow, the Thomas Jefferson of Cyberspace, I've been almost everywhere in the United States of America. The most inspiring place I've meditated is the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. Another of the most moving experiences I've had was spending an afternoon in a civil rights memorial church across the street from the State Capitol Building in Montgomery, Alabama. In my lifetime, we've gone from Rosa Parks, to Dr. King, to Barack. I grasped the truth that we are all fundamentally the same when I was 3 years old. I was forbidden to play with the new kids across the street, and I went anyway. My parents lied. These children were just like me.

The first thing I realized about the text only internet 20 years ago, is that race was nonexistent. We exchanged ideas and networked. With a toe in the door, Cyberia was a level field for all of humankind regardless of race, creed, class, or sexual orientation. We became intellectual mutants of the Electronic Renaissance in a pure democracy.

A couple of weekends ago, after a Natrona County High School football game on Cheney Alumni Field, (Darth donated the artificial turf), my brother an I were engaged in a robust discussion of the plot flaws of Othello as the music stopped at last call. Iago enrages the, "genetically inferior," Othello to jealous murder of Desdemona effortlessly. Our argument was directed at an old friend of ours who refused to vote for Barack on the basis of race alone. Later, in the parking lot, I bellowed, "You're not a Republican! You're a fucking bigot!"

We put our collective shoulder to the task at hand, changing the political and diplomatic direction of our beloved country. We networked. We invested sweat equity in a common cause for justice. We revisited the most powerful tactic in politics, individual contact. We were all winners in a landslide mandate of the American people. Oprah said, "I think hope won."

The Empire's Deathstar collapsed. Vader won't transfer his life force to the Palin vessel. But we have only begun to remove the bricks of bigotry that block us from the Constitutional ideals of our founding fathers. Yet the force is strong with this one it is. He called for the unity of all Americans, including gays last night in Grant Park.

One of the most miserable days of my life was spent in the freezing sleet and gloom outside fellow NCHS alumni Matthew Shepard's funeral. In a literal thunderstorm of snow, I became part of a unified community. Republican back woods conservatives stood shoulder to shoulder with gay activists to form a unified wall of humanity protecting the Peck and Shepard families from the, "God Hates Fags," vitriol spewed by, "Rev." Fred Phelps and his misguided, "Christian," flock protesting vociferously. Our human barrier was a collective conscience of the right thing to do.

Hope is intrinsic to the human heart. Those of us who love one another know that to be a self evident truth. In response to the empirical atrocities of the last eight years, the fundamental principles of democracy have prevailed, and cast a beacon of hope to a waiting world. In the darkest hours of his personal life, John Barlow taught me, "Groundless hope, like unconditional love, is the only kind worth having."

Goddamn I love you fucking earthlings.

Jason Reitman spent thousands of dollars removing a booger from Ellen Page's nostril with Computer-generated imagery in his Academy Award winning Juno. One wonders what CGI cosmetics were included in the final cut of Oliver Stone's, "W." Director of Photography Phedon Papamichael keeps us up close and personal with a tight lens on Josh Brolin's Oscar bid. His close-ups let us examine the actors pore by pore, nose hair to furrowed brow.

Julie Monroe's editing keeps the action clipping along at a blistering pace. "W." blisters along cosmetically swiping Bush 43's life story with a Stridex pad. Bush 41 ran the CIA. Stanley Weiser's script ignores salient points of the Bush family legacy to focus on the development of Bush 43's Oedipus complex. Freud theorized the super ego develops as one internalizes the rules pronounced by his father.

"W." becomes an homage to classic Greek tragedy. The hubris of the protagonist is his fatal flaw with the Fates. Bush 43 decides God has called him to run for the Presidency. The arrogance of his presumption to know God's design precipitates a global debacle. The crux of Stone's opus is a press conference where Bush is asked what mistakes he has made. A struggling Dubya obviously lacks the moral sense essential for critical self-examination.

Sarah Finn's supporting cast is the polish on the apple. Dubya memorizes his lines with Rove adroitly. Cheney's Vaderesque mentoring into the Dark Side is spot on. Weiser's script is the cement bonding Stone's tragedy. Stanley previously wrote, "Project X." He is experienced portraying the simian mentality as intelligent and intriguing. The credits roll while Bob Dylan drones, "With God on Our Side."

This is brought to you by the Fuck McBush/Palin '08 Campaign. I'm Jeff LeRoy Davis, and I approve this message.

Joseph Wurzelbacher speaks for himself. Katie Couric's quick fact check reveals that Joe makes less than $250,000.00 and thus, would pay no new taxes. Barack speaks the truth. McCain rolls his eyes and loses votes. The world is safe for democracy to flourish, thank God.

Obama wins the trifecta 3-0 over McCain in their debates. But one question remains unanswered. It goes to the core of Constitutional interpretation by judicial review.

Can Joe the Plumber marry Joe Six Pack and live happily ever after?
















For my friends. I have a little bank. I can fly to LA for John Perry Barlow's Barlowfriendzy tomorrow night, and pitch the book I've been working on. I'm still moving to Kelly, Wyoming the 1st of November, but the trip to LA will stretch my resources for my December rent. What's the verdict? Go for it, or wait for the opportune moment?

PS: The Obama Home Run Ball.

The eyes of Nels Cline roll back in his head when he fans. I'm a fan of fanning. Garcia fanned his guitar. I've fanned mine.

I was 10 feet from the stage when it was set up for Wilco. A vintage Vox double speaker cabinet amplifier is something you don't see every day. Cline's effects pedals outnumbered Jeff Tweedy's Vox cluster 2 to 1. Nels prefers vintage tube crunch amplification as well sporting a maple cabinet Schroeder.

Songwriter/Front man Tweedy was supplied with guitars kept back stage. Cline chose his from a rack of several at hand. Things became curiouser as I wondered how the guitar collections would fit in the mix.

Wilco paints broad strokes on a multilayered tapestry of sound. Simple rhythmic frameworks become an interplay between the two principle guitarists. Cline's, "1 and," is accented by Tweedy's, "2," to Nels', "3 and," capped by Jeff's, "4," become the backbone of, Handshake Drugs, Tweedy's moment of clarity in addiction. 5th root mixolydian scales noodled from Cline's Fenders cross the fabric woven by band members bassist John Stirrat, multi-instrumentalists Pat Sansone and Mikael Jorgensen, and drummer Glen Kotche.

Cline easily played melodic 32nd note riffs over the entire neck of his guitar. The attack and release of each individual note was measured equally. Rapid fire staccato rode over the top of celestial tube crunch and angelic keyboard work. The bottom end flirted with intricacy.

This review is not fair and balanced. I was overwhelmed dancing 20 feet from Cline's amplifier. The subtle nuance of Jorgensen's keyboard arpeggios create a symbiotic cascade with those of Cline's. I am forced by proximity to overlook Sansone's work, which was overshadowed in a competitive guitar duet with Nels during an extended encore.

I swallowed the last shot of orange juice given to me on my way into a Grateful Dead show at Soldier Field in Chicago, Wilco's home town. I imagine I drank as much LSD as one can experience. I published a review that included synthesia the next afternoon. I was able to see sound in a brush stroked palate of colors splashing the stadium with post modern impressionism.

With a conscious effort to achieve an archetypical cardiac connection in its performance, Wilco totally transcended Tweedy and the sum of its parts. Gunning for heartfelt Gestalt closure is something few bands can accomplish with their audience. Tweedy gave us the heartbeat of Wilco's music. We held it in our hands. I yelled, "Come back to us!" Jeff looked astonished my voice carried. Wilco did.

Have you ever laid your head on a lover's chest and realized your heartbeats were synchronized? It was like that.

The way this guy rides wild snow, I'm sure this is no hoax. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present my MySpace friend, JT.

Subject: Do Not Try This At Home !!!!
Body:
So There I was, trying to get home before I fell asleep at the wheel. I have fallen asleep at the wheel 3 times in the past and totalled vehicles, so I am a little scared of a 4th time. My usual remedy is to roll down the windows and turn up the music. This was working for a little while but I still found myself nodding off. My last attempt to stay awake was to stick my head out the window in order to get some fresh air and to feel the breeze through my hair. Well, as it was a little buggy and I was being pelted in the face by every bug imaginable. Being the GENIUS I am, I decided to close my eyes so as not to geta mosquitoe in the eye. The next thing I know, I get smacked in the face by a road sign at 55 mph. Not Cool. My nose was shattered and blood was spraying everywhere as I looked down to asess the amount of blood on my shirt, I ran smack in to the rear end of a vehicle at the traffic signal. Next Stop Hospital.



Broken Nose, Facial Lacerations, and my 14th Concussion !!!

The moral of the story : If you are about to fall asleep at the wheel, it is wise to just pull over and take a nap !!!

The 3G iPhone has an incredibly low vapor pressure. Mine lasted 7 days. I was emailing my brother. The Russian behind me was moving, and I set up my outlet splitter with my Mac and the iPhone charger. I left the device on the table in front of me. I looked up, and it registered that I needed to grab it to charge it. I typed another sentence and it was gone.

Victor, a Romanian, saw it sitting 5 feet in front of me, and was going to give me a heads up. He looked at his laptop screen. By the time he looked back up, I was reporting it stolen.

Some idiot stole it on camera. Video surveillance has a clear view of the table top it sat on, and the people passing by. There are cameras on every exit. It takes no Sherlock Holmes to solve this crime.

Jackson Police were investigating less than 30 minutes after it disappeared. Joe Vokal arrived less than 5 minutes after I called Teton County Dispatch. I'm sure Scott Evans will be reviewing the tape log with them first thing in the morning.

I didn't have to stand in line for my iPhone. I waited until Monday, the 14th. AT&T Fed Exed it to me by the 18th. That was 7 days ago. I'm not used to having a device with vapor pressure that low. We don't even lock our doors in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Hell, we leave the keys in our ignitions all the time.

The Californian next to me just figured out how to enable his wireless access on his compaq notebook. He said, "How will you know who took it?" 95% of the people in this store don't know what an iPhone looks like. We will identify the culprit with video surveillance. There are cameras everywhere. There are cameras in the parking lot. Even if the perpetrator is an inbred Arkansas hog farmer, the chances are very good we'll have a license plate number by noon.

Updates as they come in, sports fans. I won't be double thumb typing them though. I'll have to lug this mobile electronic warfare combat unit, (with munitions), around. WiFi is ubiquitous in Jackson Hole. The reports will be on a half hour lag at most.

And I'm ordering a new iPhone in the morning...