Subaru Psychology

 Motor Trends named the Subaru Forester 2009 Sport Utility of the Year (see bottom video below).  Because of its four wheel drive and reasonable price ($31,000 fully loaded) the Forester is a good choice for a second car in the Catskills, where winding mountain roads and snowy winters are the norm.  For instance, my 1991 Ford Probe was unable to go up Overlook Mountain back in the winter of '98 (it couldn't get traction about half way up) and my Lexus went into anti-skid mode going downhill on the curvy Boiceville end of Piney Point Road last winter.  Plus, the Forester's ample rear cargo room is ideal for hauling trash, lawn products from the hardware store and other artifacts of rural life.

But there is a problem:  the Subaru "love" commercials.  A friend in Olivebridge, which is Subaru country (as is my neighboring West Shokan) points out that mainly left wingers, diesel dykes, people with bumper stickers that read "Women's Writers' Conference", transvestites in tu tus and hippies drive Subarus.  My friend takes issue with my buying a Subaru seeing that I view Republicans as a big government party and consider Democrats the party of Karl Marx.  See the two commercials below.  Clearly,  the Subaru love theme is problematic.  The Subaru is a car for vegetarians, not high cholesterol types like me.

After my friend made this observation I began checking out Subaru drivers. They are passive-aggressive.  Left (never right) turns in busy intersections; speeding up when you try to pass them on the NYS Thruway; erratic stops in the Village of Woodstock.  Passive-aggressive driving is characteristic of leftists, who are tolerant of all values and will lynch you if you disagree. Equally, left-wingers are plain bad drivers as any drive through Woodstock will confirm. The recognition that Subaru drivers are passive aggressive supports my friend's claim that they are tu tu clad granola crunchers as well.


But this argument leads me to the best reason to buy a Subaru. It is the perfect undercover vehicle. I can go to Woodstock, park in the lot behind the Houst hardware store, load up on rock salt, and no one will break my window.  Or, I can attend an Obama rally and everyone will think I'm really a supporter. Or visit the farmer's market in Woodstock. Or the next Arlo Guthrie concert in Bel Ayre.  An undercover vehicle has many uses around here.  Contrast that with a red Porsche.

The Subaru Forester is the perfect undercover car. 

Town of Olive Republican Committee

I got myself appointed to the Town of Olive Republican Committee. Chet Scofield, the Town chairman, leads a group of about 10 or 12 committee members. The meetings are held at Chet's bar, Snyder's, which is on NY 28A in between Watson Hollow Road and NY 28. I thought the committee has great potential and there are quite a few great Republicans in the Town of Olive. Robin Yess, who ran for state assembly in our district last year, was at the meeting in June. I was added to the committee and carried my own petition along with several others to voters in the Olivebridge district. I live in a different district, West Shokan, but Town residents are allowed to cross over.

Here are some things I learned:

1. Olivebridge and the Town of Olive constitute an incredibly beautiful district. I have petitioned in New York City and I must say, it is a pleasure to drive around a place as beautiful as the Ashokan Reservoir, Route 213, Brown Station, Beaverkill Rd. Driving around there is like being on vacation.

2. The Olivebridge Republicans are a rather contrary group. I think some of them aren't sure if they're Republicans and I had to pull teeth to get 20 signatures. In part the difficulty is the distance. When New York City gutted the Town of Olive and submerged about three quarters of it in the Ashokan Reservoir, they left scattered streets and roads which now constitute the Olivebridge district. It is a disjoint place. It was probably among the first instances of a community utterly devastated by modern urban planning. New York City still pays the County of Ulster a fee for the use of the reservoir land, and Olive does not get its fair share. Recently, a "large parcel" tax bill removed the payment for Olive to the County, and the good people of Olive are justifiably annoyed.

3. There are a lot of very concerned people here, many of whom are quite unhappy with the nation's socialist direction and the incompetent Democratic leadership in Washington.

4. I think the Republican Committee in Olive and everywhere else has a great opportunity. The Democratic Party advocates a stupid, failed ideology, social democracy. The sorry excuse for American politics that we have seen under Bush and Obama poses opportunities.