In the solidarity department, an obituary worth reading, and, a point you need to remember, that 80% is a powerful number...
So, the last couple of days I've spent more than a little time checking out new guitars/gear being exhibited at the NAMM show and trying to avoid thinking overmuch about the clusterfuck-in-process that Trump/Pence embodies. Guitars, if you will, are as close as you can come in my mind to a non-political pursuit.
Except...
Guitars are political. I'm all of a sudden reminded of this because I have a bunch of guitars on the boat with rosewood fingerboards and bits that may become a huge problem when cruising to other countries because of the new rules about the import/export of the endangered species of rosewood. Because... you know...
Politics.
Being reminded of this I actually sorta/kinda understand why some folks drop me lines here at BoatBits telling me that I should deep six the news blurbs at the top of the posts because cruising should be a politics free zone...
But...
Cruising IS political...
And...
What politicians do and how we as Americans are perceived, greatly affects...
Where we can cruise...Big time.
Where we can anchor...
How much things cost...
How much our cruising kitty is worth...
How people treat us when we visit...
So, just like the fact that I was unable to buy a new 12-string electric guitar from Germany the other day because of the wood contained in its fingerboard and the politics surrounding rosewood (mostly being a mix of ecological need and rampant greed of those wanting yet greater profits) affected my ability to play a guitar in the cockpit and annoy the anchorage.
Politics.
It does not take a whole lot of imagination to see that if Trump continues his anti-Hispanic hate speech and plans for mass deportation that visiting countries where folks speak Spanish might become a lot more problematic. Hell, they might even adopt the sort of awful red tape FUBAR system of immigration for visiting yachts and crews that the US of A inflicts on fellow cruisers that come from other countries. Or, imagine being that cruiser in the immigration line in Mexico where the official who gets to say yea/nay to your entry just found out his nephew got deported from the US of A...
Politics.
Which is a long and roundabout way of saying the news blurbs will continue. If you have a problem with that, simply don't read the blurb or go find another site to visit. And yes, dear reader, this sure as shit is a political statement. Because... you know... Freedom can be a bitch.
Now, if you'll forgive me, I need to get back to looking for a maple necked 12-string electric guitar to fall in love with.
Listening to the Byrds
So it goes...
