Hammer Mill Days

Where did you put the GPS? I don't know this neighborhood very well. Okay, well ... pull out that AAA map and unfold it. Yes, I'll wait. Jesus. Well, you caught Marvin (my personal robot assistant) and I on a little automotive tour of the greater Little Falls, NY area. All it takes is some kind of vehicle - in this case, Mitch Macaphee's 1968 Chevy Nova - and a little curiosity. Sure, the muffler just fell off (again) and I can see the road going by under my feet, but these are minor inconveniences. Spring is here, people - it's time to start living the life. Let's get our sorry asses out of that drafty old hammer mill and fill our nostrils with the scent of new life. Or ... not. Up to you. Sometimes the best of intentions, as you know, lead one astray. It reminds me of a song Matt Perry wrote many moons ago - still applies today, though. Good intentions, I've all these good intentions My good intentions won't row the boat ashore Good intentions, yo...

After years of speculation, Hillary Clinton has announced her candidacy for president. At this point it feels as though she has been running for three years or more. American election seasons have been way too long since the 1970s, particularly over the last few cycles. I personally think this has been accentuated by the emergence of the 24-hour news cycle and cable opinion/advocacy journalism, like FoxNews and MSNBC. I watch the latter more than most anything else, and I can tell you, they have been obsessing over 2016 since the day after the 2012 election, literally. It is permanent presidential electoral politics, restricted to horse-race coverage for the most part. (Chris Hayes, Melissa Harris-Perry and Rachel Maddow focus on policy more than their colleagues, to be fair.) What about policy? It doesn't look good, frankly, and it's kind of depressing. Hillary Clinton is mouthing platitudes about inequality and being a "champion" for ordinary people, but that seem...