Thursday, February 28, 2008

THE BELLY OF THE BEAST

from Murph

For all of history, the radical members of any society have been preaching one kind of doom or another. I fall into the classification of a doomer. I have been preaching that bad things were coming down, and while I/we couldn’t project the timing, I assured all that would listen, it was indeed coming. It sure appears that we are now in the midst of some kind of collapse. How extensive and how fast it will hit us all, in a drastic sense, is still open to speculation.

It is obvious to me that we are all living in the belly of the beast. The beast being the system and the owners that are pushing us over the abyss of self destruction. The very real threat of a harsh police state, scarcity of food, ever increasing fuel costs, mass starvation, mass dislocation, mass population movements, pandemics, ever increasing military action, and above all, advanced repression, is now upon us. It appears that when a county’s social and economic systems begin to disintegrate, humans become more repressive, more mean, nastier and more violent, more intolerant, more irrational, more vicious. Is that our fate this time around? It sure appears so to me as our owners are obviously becoming all of that and more.

I’m sitting before the computer screen, keyboard under my fingers, agonizing over what to write. I have just read some critiques of Descartes, Bacon and some history of the attempted complete annihilation of the American Indian and how this all ties in with observations about our civilization, and that is just in 20 pages of one of the books by Derrick Jensen. It is upsetting reading, even if it is familiar stuff.

I recently had several emails exchanged with a dear and long time friend. I had sent him a fairly benign web page outlining some aspects of the economic situation in this country. He reply was that he had read it, it was the longest read he has ever done on such subjects because he felt that since there wasn’t anything he could do about it anyway, it was best ignored. I replied back that I felt that I needed to know because I would then have at least some idea about how to duck and cover from what was coming at us. He wasn’t convinced, and quipped that; what was he to do, have a 357 by his side while he made guitars? My reply to him was ‘you bet’.

The coming turmoil I expect to be some of the worst the world has seen. Of course, not having lived through other such catastrophes, (or at least that I remember for those who believe in reincarnation), I can’t attest to the severity of past events. But irregardless, suffering as a country we will experience. It has already begun and the evidence is right before us if we choose to pay attention. In this fairly rural community, including the city nearest us, we have a total population less than 100,000. Between the two school systems, we just learned there are over 600 homeless children. Our local food banks are pleading for food donations and the meals for the homeless and destitute are getting skimpier. We are experiencing an over abundance of repossessed houses in this area. Perhaps they will be the refuge of choice for the homeless.

Our Citizens Action group that is fighting tooth and nail with the county over the septic and ground water issue has finally gotten some reasonably hard numbers concerning costs of the systems they want us to put in. It is equivalent to purchasing a house and property, in the range of $160,000 over a 30 year span. The immediate cost to households comes out at this time to about $40,000 plus $2000 per year for maintenance and all of the permits and related costs. And these are our elected officials. As you can see, this is simply beyond the reach of most of the population. The prestigious “Mother Earth News” recently came out with a big article by a fellow that has fought these septic issues before. He states that it is a national push by the bigger construction lobbyists for these expensive individual systems. Local officials at the city and county level of government are talking big time about expansion, destination resort building, airports and more. The latest is that because of the health hazards of dirt roads, they want to pave over them all, at an average household cost of $10,000. Needless to say, there is some angry grumbling going on. I fully expect some hothead to take up arms over it all.

The local senior center gets overstock and out of date food to feed the seniors in our town. Every Tuesday, a friend brings us over the food they are going to throw out. The last donation to our personal and chicken larder was two big boxes of organic groceries. A fairly hefty proportion was unusable for us, but after the chickens picked through it and stuffed themselves, the compost system got the rest. I figure that most of you know that if you shop for strictly as advertised organic grown food, you up your grocery bill by at least 100%. But, not to look gifts like this as bad stuff, we welcome the donations. We give away eggs and produce from our garden in return. It’s a nice trade.

I mention these things because I am reading that we are not an exception to the general state of the country. Even down to the local level, the beast is denying that we have to do anything different, that growth is good for us, that everything is just fine. A chamber of Commerce pod person made a recent comment that we aren’t in a recession and one is not coming and there was no unsolvable problem with the economy. The people that are supposed to be concerned with our interests, are not. They are exercising their dictatorial powers with a vengeance, just like the federal and state governments. It’s all about money and the power, influence and privilege it buys.

On a world wide level, large scale famine appears on the horizon. Food stores are at an all time low for the last 50 years. We are seeing battles shaping up over water. Have you been following the Georgia-Tennessee dispute over a corner of the Tennessee River? Georgia wants to move their state line 1 mile north so they can tap into the river for water. I wonder when the shooting will start.

We are living in a country (that appears to not be an exception) where the majority of the population is completely unaware of what is and has been taking over their lives. The whole process has been gradual enough that most people aren’t even aware of it. The U.S is now truly a service economy, dedicated to shuffling our feet and saying “yas sir, yas sir” when demands are made of us. We have been indoctrinated for so many years to be passive, to take orders, to bend to the will of authority and majority that we have forgotten, as a society, that they have no mandate from heaven to do this to us. So now our time is spent figuratively and in actuality wiping the asses of the elite and thanking them for their attention, and of course dreaming of the day when we too can have our asses wiped by someone lower on the power totem pole.

In the meantime, the very land base and ecology that is absolutely essential to our survival as a species is degraded at a furious pace in the name of progress and resource development. And while we are at it, let’s not ignore our breeding like rabbits, piling up our garbage as if it wasn’t important. Meanwhile our owners are progressively becoming more insistent that they have the right and duty to involve themselves more and more into our private lives, into our very health, and of course it is justified as providing for our safety and security. I wonder what it really says about us that we aren’t out rioting in the streets and eating the rich for pleasure. But, of course, we must respect our betters, those of the elite class, because they must be finding favor with God since they are at the top of the heap. Isn’t that what our religions teach us? Or haven’t you read the Old Testament lately? Or read the religious leaders teaching around the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s. The essence of those teachings was that if things are not good for you, you must have angered your God.

While I am on this subject, I want to make a brief mention about a subject we have touched on a bit before, cognitive dissonance. By definition, it is contrary and mutually exclusive perceptions of reality. When our belief systems are contradicted by observable events, it creates a tension, a stress, a very uncomfortable feeling we call cognitive dissonance. Since the belief system and the data are mutually exclusive, to relieve the tension, one or the other has to go. The effort that is necessary to resolve the truth of the matter is extensive. The easiest route is to ignore the data that contradicts the belief system. An example; who would want to admit that the country they love and adore with all its comforts and advantages would kill its own citizens for gain, or would kill a million people for gain and realize that they have contributed to putting the people in charge that are doing this?

To keep our population under control, the mass media has been taken over by huge conglomerates. The predominate aspect of these dispensers of “news” is deception, distortion or outright ignoring of important information. Have you followed the "60 Minutes" blackout of a section in a couple of major metropolitan areas of Alabama? In case you are wondering about it, Karl Rove took a hand in that little bit of political hiding. Coincidently, (perhaps synchronicity would be a better term), most of the population is on a circular treadmill which makes it impossible to question what we are fed as news. Getting out of bed, going to work (probably for far more than 8 hours) coming home, eating supper, watching TV and then back to bed is the standard of life. I know about that too, I’ve been there. There is not much time or reason to question what you are fed by the media. After all, if it is in print or put out by a “journalist” it has to be true doesn’t it? I recently read of an investigation into the biggest newspapers in England where they found that only 12% of the news stories were actually written by investigative research. 8% were so outright ambiguous that they didn’t know where they came from. 80% of the news was repeated second or third hand from public relations outfits. Of that 80%, only 12% of the information was checked for accuracy. Political propaganda machines are the primary information sources for “news” publications of all types. Is it any wonder that those living in the beast’s belly have no idea that they can escape this situation? Is it any wonder that we have a society composed predominately of sheeple?

There are moments when the screaming voice in my head takes over, when I can barely live with myself over these observations. That’s when I have those self defeating fantasies of violence. That is when I have to turn to activities instead of thinking to push the screaming voice back down its hole. As always, I keep asking the question to no one in particular, “when will this end?”

And so today, in the name of whatever god you want to name, we continue, as a species, raping, pillaging, killing and destroying the environment, and of course, the main god is money and profits. The few, the very few, who object, are stopped cold from having any influence, any power, any veracity.

I listen to the news blurbs about the campaign, listen to the mongrel humans blurting forth their platitudes, their lies, their stupid innuendos, and observe with horror the cheering of the crowds. It’s all a giant circle jerk of mental masturbation. The winner gets to eat the cracker.

Living in the belly of the beast has only one solution that I can see. Want to take a stab at what that is? It sure doesn’t appear that we are going to have a mass movement to change consciousness. That would be nice and sure nu’f a bunch less violent. Oh, I will keep looking for it, but you can bet I won’t hold my breath about it. Sort of like Jonah in the belly of the whale. Need to find its sneezing meat and give it a good whack. Getting sneezed out of the belly of the beast is one way to do it I suppose.

29 comments:

Palooka's Revenge said...

haven't read the post yet. was orderin some more seeds this morn and ran across this in baker creek's cat...

Rouge D' Irak
Medium-sized fruit are finely flavored; good yields, too. This variety is endangered even in its own country, where saving seeds was made illegal under the "Colonial Powers" of the United States. Under the new law, Iraqi farmers must only plant seeds from "protected varieties" from international corporations. Is this our unique way of making democracy?
Item Code: TM145 $1.50

Anonymous said...

"There are moments when the screaming voice in my head takes over, when I can barely live with myself over these observations. That’s when I have those self defeating fantasies of violence. That is when I have to turn to activities instead of thinking to push the screaming voice back down its hole. As always, I keep asking the question to no one in particular, “when will this end?”

Geez, Murph, that's EXACTLY how I feel each and every day. When will all of this madness end? I'm hoping it's soon. My wife thinks I'm some "conspiracy" nutbag, but she follows that by saying, "But in a good way" and tolerates my buying extra food, TP, sugar catfood, etc. It would be nice if she was on my side or at least acknowledge that some of what I'm saying is in fact happening and not fiction, so I guess the quicker this madness reaches it's climax, the quicker I'll be able to say, "I told you. I told you." At which time, I'll hopefully have a partner -a partner in survival.

Ever since I was a tenager, I was always wondering why -why do we have to have insurance, why do we have to have 3 forms of ID, why do we have to a license for this, this and that, why do I have to have a phone, internet, why do I need a freak'en Ph.D. to teach anything, why, why, why and WHY?!!! (Now that I'm older, its more like -WTF?!!) It's all artificial. It's all man-made BS. And I sometimes wonder what life would be like without all of the BS. If we all had to live day by day without all of the man-made BS, would it be better? It probably would be hard living, but it wouldn't be man-made BS. It would be real. Yes, there's some cool man-made BS that I'd probably miss, but they've been brewing beer since before the pyramids so hell, maybe I can too.

Later -

Dude

Anonymous said...

Dude,

When I dig into how society works, all of it sure appears to me as a construct. Unfortunately, it is not a sustainable construct, but rather destructive of everything it touches, human, environmental and spiritually. This is going to cause cognitive dissonance big time. As I mentioned in the post, the easy way out is to ignore the information coming in that contradicts the existing beliefs.

Your last paragraph is interesting. One of my favorite authors is Robert Heinlein. In one of his books featuring the character Lazereth Long, he states that when a society issues you a number, it time to move out. Of course his novels take place in the future where there is someplace else to go to. We don't have that option at this time. If we did, I would have been gone a long time ago.

Anonymous said...

Palooka,

What you read seems to be taking place all over the world, here and in Canada also, particularly with corn. Oh yeh, democracy in action. Ain't it great? lol

Anonymous said...

Godalmighty, p, "under the "Colonial Powers" of the United States. Under the new law, Iraqi farmers must only plant seeds from "protected varieties" from international corporations" ...that just makes me sick. What an abomination we have become.
Dude, I think your wife will be thanking you pretty soon. The wholesale price of wheat just doubled, gas is supposed to jump to $4 per gallon this summer, and the dollar is tanking. So, everything extra that you buy now, you won't have to spend three times as much for later on, if nothing else.
We just reached the goal of 260 lbs. of flour, 50 lbs. of corn meal, 70 lbs. of rolled oats, 100 lbs. rice, and hundred lbs. of sugar.Got 10 gal. of olive oil, 4 gal. of coconut oil, bags and bags of beans, lentils, raisins, pasta, jars of sauces, canned milk, mushrooms, and a whole freezer full of garden veggies. It's taken us a couple of years to amass all this stuff, but I think we are finally sitting pretty good - along with all the other supplies (tools, gear, batteries, medical stuff, toiletries, ammo, etc. etc.).
Baking my own bread and making food from scratch keeps me grounded and separate from the soul-sucking artificiality. Next I am thinking of making my own cheese. Dude, if you like beer, by all means, make your own. It'll be good for you - and would make a good item to barter in a pinch.

Anonymous said...

from singapore

Today I and my family went to singapore expo exhibition hall 6B today for a book sales exhibition and my family paid for 6 books as I am still under financial control by my family.

1) The doomsday book scenarios for the end of the world by Joel Levy 2005. Covers Bird Flu/SARS/World War 3/Climate Change/Peak oil/run away virus as seen in the movie "I am legend". S$29.96 (US$1 = S$1.42). The author conclusion out of the 29 doomsday scenarios, the most likely to occur (As of 2005) is ecological disaster (Pollution and lack of clean water and not climate change) due to overpopulation as seen in Easter Island in the past and he recommends living green, save energy and recycle, travel green, cycle and use public transportation, car pool and do not fly any where, eat green , avoid meat, be a vegetarian, go local buy local products and services where ever possible, consume ethically , use the ballot box and think green. Text only.

2) Plan B 3.0, to save the world. 2008. S$33.50. The ice in the 2 poles is melting rapidly and it is time to take more drastic action. Global warming. Text only.

3) Six degrees 2007. 6 chapters on basically what will happen when temperature rises by 1 2 3 4 5 6 degrees. Global warming. S$32. Text only.

4) A planet without us 2007. An imagination what will happen if all humans suddenly disappears.S$29.10. Text only.

5) Time Global warming the causes, the perils, the solutions, the actions: what you can do. Full color. August 2007 printed in USA. S$22.47. Lots of photos on flooding tsunami air pollution and green energy such as hydro solar wind power biogas and 51 actions you can do to save the planet.

6) The last generation How nature will take her revenge for climate change by Fred Pearce 2006. S$23.10. Basically about global warming.

And 2 doors away, in exhibition hall 4A and 4B, the busiest exhibition is cheaper tours to other parts of the world. The queue is very long 100 metres 300 feet for NAFA tour agency special discounts for booking for holidays all over the world. Every one who does not know about peak oil/global warming is rushing for cheaper tours all over the world.

Palooka's Revenge said...

fa... that little publicized rule was part of the plan that was the hijacking of iraq. the coffers, the resources, the infrastructure, and so on and turning it over to special interests. the add reminded me. how soon we forget.

the antiquities, and of course the oil, went to more elitist and more sinister interests.

paul bremer baecame the hit man since jay garner had a little prob with the agendas of the coalition provisional authority when he discovered what it was all about. did the wolfman lie to congress when he told them the war wouldn't cost a dime because of the oil? probably not. he probably bought the idea too and then sold it on behalf of those who would empower him to have his war.

this whole thing was of course dressed up in the peacock suit that is american democracy and sold to the american people and the rest of the world. the rest of the world didn't buy it and still don't. but the americans, so done in by their own grandiosity and arrogance, can't see the forest for the trees. little did they know just what "mission accomplished" actually meant.

why do they not look? because if they did they'd have to keep looking. looking all the way back to when they came to this country and hijacked it. then they'd have to go jump off a bridge. or so they think and their guilt tells them. the alternative is denial.

Anonymous said...

Singapore,

Good books all. Interesting that so many people were lined up to take vacation tours to so many places. I guess if yo have the spare money, might as well do it now, it shouldn't last much longer. I gather that in your part of the world, doomers aren't getting much attention either. I suppose they have a point, not that I agree with it. Even if we are right, might as well live it up while you can. Of course, for me, that seems to be just contributing to the problems down the road. We are a short sighted bunch aren't we.

Anonymous said...

Palooka,

So damned true.

Anonymous said...

Outstanding piece, clearly from the heart. I’m totally on the same page with you as far as the disconnect between the “official” messages we’re inundated with and the reality that I observe with my own eyes. Sometimes I, too, just want to scream.

“The belly of the beast,” what a good phrase for what we’re in now. I certainly feel as if I’m in the midst of a boiling cauldron. I’d like to leave, but I can’t think of anyplace that’s better off, save perhaps Argentina.

I couldn’t agree more that economics plays a huge role in determining peoples’ temperament. People have often pointed to the 1950s and 1960s as the “good ‘ol days.” Well, if they were such it’s because those were among the wealthiest decades in American history. I feel fortunate to have grown up during America’s most lavish eras. So I guess it’s only fair that I pay the price by living through its darkest days, which I am certain are on the way, if not in their incipient stage right now!

It’s funny, we can see the economic woes all around us, and they are serious. Everywhere one looks one sees signs of economic stress or deterioration. I’m by no means a pessimist, but I don’t see one good economic sign out there. So given the state of affairs right now, one can draw one of three conclusions: 1) the conditions right now represent a temporary recession and that things will get better; 2) things will remain the same; or 3) things will get worse. Given that everything is trending toward the worse, and given that the U.S. no longer has the means to generate the real wealth necessary to actually turn things around, I don’t see how we can possibly avoid door #3. The only question is just how bad it’s going to get. Will it get so bad that we have to board up our windows and cower in our houses with a loaded gun? For a measured, sensible look at our potential future, read Dmitry Orlov’s “The Five Stages of Collapse” (http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2008/02/five-stages-of-collapse.html).

To be honest, I find the present times simultaneously terrifying and exciting. Perhaps my fears are overblown. Or perhaps we are facing a crisis of life-threatening proportions. There’s nothing like a threat to one’s life to make one appreciate life. Collapse is not all bad. Our society has drifted far away from its natural values. It’s forgotten the importance of community, family, cooperation, sharing, harmonious existence with the rest of the planet, as well as taken for granted simple pleasures such as shelter, food, and meager material wealth. Collapse will remind us once again of those fundamental values and beat down our hubris. The people that survive will be the better for it. Unfortunately, I’m not so optimistic or naïve as to believe that those who do survive will remember their lessons any better than those who went through similar strife in the past. Humans are too forgetful, but it’s deliberate. We have possessed technology for centuries to record history and the mistakes of history, but we have refused to utilize that technology to avoid making the same mistakes repeatedly. It’s as if we actively avoid studying history, as if we need to make the same mistakes over and over again. I don’t know what, aside from evolution of our species, will ever change that pattern.

Dave

Anonymous said...

listening to the sweet smelling rain falling outside the open window this early morning reading murph's post which is most good as usual, i thought i would pass on something that has been taking place since this past summer, and that is the comradeship that i have been fortunate to develop with one of the police that have chosen to watch over this little village, and i mean watch over, for the first time in my life it has come to pass that i actually am delighted to see a mother fucking cop.
this man and i have had many conversations and in the course of these sharing times we have gradually developed a trust in one another that we can count on one another when the shit comes down ( the man is on the same page as us and knows that it will be a mean bitch of a time when it happens).
well from a cops point of view he has thought and conveyed to me the possible danger to himself and his family in regard to his role of being an enforcer of the rules, which as you might of gathered by this point are next to nil.
his take on squabbles or what ever is to listen very close to what is taking place and allow the participants of said squabble to deal with in on their own terms if possible, imaging that? as in last summer when the neighbors dog ( a huge incredibly butt ugly pit bull) was barking barking barking (the owners were not home) i called this cop about it , (it was making my brother whom was staying the bus a total wreck, he is dying of cancer,)
he came,he said there was nothing he could do, i said i am going to shoot that mother fucker in the head, he shrugged his shoulders, gave me that look and drove off.
can you imagine the return of empowerment that took place in that moment?!!
i was being allowed to take care of my own whatever without some prick with a gun and a badge lording it over the situation as if he or she was gods own right hand enforcer.
anyway the point is is that this man is fully aware of what's happening and whether he remains on the force or not he probably does not know, i kind of hope he does for a while just to have a friend on the inside and might give us word that we just might need.
the real point i suppose though is maybe to shelve some of our deep ingrained responses to lives dictates and realize that we are not alone and that people no matter what circumstances they might find them selfs in when the awareness that the world is slightly less then a suitable place to live in comes upon them, they might look around and say 'my god what have i done, this is not my house, this is not my wife' (from the song) .what i'm trying to say is to keep one hand out for the ones that are fumbling in the dark and the other one on your gun and the other one on surviving and the other one on .....fuck! wait a minute i'm running out of hands.

just looked at the site rockpicker listed and it seems as if the ptb are really taking notice of the landslide of folks that are also paying attention to the nasty side of their bullshit, do they have another side, ?

fa, a friend of mine turned me on yesterday to something that i have dabbled with but enlightened me to just how far one might go in this direction, its sprouting seeds!!!! yeah....
those delicious little sprouts, fresh veggies on demand !!
i love mung bean sprouts but was intimidated by reading about the procedure but by the damns i will grow some come hell or high water so help me!!
also i been getting from azurestandard.com sprouted corn tortillas and bread which is wonderful.
i mean there's a whole world of nutrition that is as easily preserved as seeds in a sack. put'um in a cool dry environment and massive health is ours.
also yesterday i traded an electrical upgrade to her house in exchange for her graining up the organic peanuts ( from azures) into peanut butter, yummmy nothing like fresh thats for sure.
so another of the survival items is now in place to explore and its a good one for sure, how to keep maximum nutrition for the longest time, the beans and grains are most excellent. all you add is imagination and love.
sprouts for start for us that are sprout challenged
sproutpeople.com/seed/mung.html
wheatgrasskits.com
really good one ......waltonfeed.com/grain/sprouts.html....for us ginners, that hep talk for beginners you know. ginners.

ok its daylight so its time to get back in the box.

ras, my little spirit guide is with me day and night,don't know why but she is always there if a question arises, i just say bug what do you think about this or that and soon her (voice? no,not voice really) but something that gets translated into i know not what and then put into words as i understand them and a lot of the time i still don't understand them,so part of the communication with her is developing a part of the brain that can make sense of the deeper information she imparts that requires this change, not change or whatever to take place, but basically it requires a really intent desire to listen while shutting out the background noise of the brains bullshit, (which seems to be most of it). sorry this is not clear to me either but just listen real close and your guide will reveal its essence,and you will probably find great comfort in your spiritual companion when the connection is clearer. most of this is heart you know, which leads me to think that women would have an easier time with the spiritual connection, maybe not.

we scream together murph,
it is a good day to die
aho
mf

Palooka's Revenge said...

dave... screaming, or whatever the emotional charge, is EXACTLY what we need to do. let it move by allowing it to express in sound and body movement that is. not act it out on ourselves or anyone else.

thats only guilt talkin that sez its only fair to pay the price. relocation is an option to all of us. i've done considerable research on ecuador and her peoples and luv everything i'm reading and what little i've seen. i am seriously considering it. pocket dollars multiply 6 to 10 times when you land in quito depending on living style after you get there. future income is the prob but skill sets are needed as much there as anywhere.

the country is now well over a majority of indiginous in population with many of the mid to upper class mestizos having left when hyper inflation hit the peso in 01. they are believers in the prophecies that say now is the time for the coming together of the eagle and the condor.

no need to take your guns. the people do quite nicely banging pots and pans having run 3 recent presidents in a row out of the country along with texaco. this when the betrayed their promises to the people and jumped into bed with the power mongers holding debt against the country. the current one is holding fast to his promises having told the imf, world bank, and condi rice to go fuck themselves.

if we look at orlov's 5 stages we can see that we are moving into certain aspects of the first 3. tea leaves say its only going to get worse. life styles of the rich and poor are likely to drastically change by year's end. orlov's ongoing seminar with savinor among other recent developments have finally gotten my wife's attention. we had decided to dig in here but now she's chompin at the bit to get out of the bible belt culture. we're likely headed west or south. or both. going to take us some time to get out of here since we now have to switch gears. hope we still have that time. tea leaves say so. but be in a hurry!!!

post script... first 3 letters of the word verification... S-O-S hummmm!!!!

Anonymous said...

''Our society has drifted far away from its natural values. It’s forgotten the importance of community, family, cooperation, sharing, harmonious existence with the rest of the planet''...

not to nitpick to much dave but being a registered cherokee leaves me a little one eyed chicken look at this statement. when i was a child in oklahoma when we were thirsty we could drink from the same river we swam in and caught fish out of. ( :

this was a short while before the white man swindled my grandmother out of the alloted piece of dirt that was 'given' to her by the guilt rid christian fucks.

the boat people that invaded this beautiful land filled with absolute pristine delightfulness is gone, we now live in a cesspool of crud and corruption fueled by the corporate greed and we the people that just have to have that next mother fucking ipod or what ever, i sit at this computer feeling like my ancestors would cry if they could see me here, but that is the way of it now and i use this marvelous machine to reach out and to be reached by brothers and sisters even though they not be of native blood contain the magic and the love of the land that will be the miracle that restores mother earth to her former glory.
this is foretold and will come to past once the great cleanse is finished.
i bring this note in peace my brother, we are of like hearts and that is part of the answer that is the beginning of the cleanse.
be free it is your destiny to be such and the ones that you cannot reach are also part of the cleanse, i do not know what will happen to the ones destroyed but somethings are maybe not knowable on this level. for sure though the great spirit is not a benevolent energy.it is us living in the world of the lost that contain this mystery not the spirit.

so great peace to your good heart,
aho
montana freeman

Anonymous said...

I swear to God, you people nourish my soul. I sure would be nice if we could get together this year... maybe those that could bring a tent and pitch it in the backyard around the fire pit? We could drum and dance and watch the chickens as we mull over stuff. Maybe we should drift to Montana, where it seems we are less likely to get tazed by the good police man. If all hell broke loose, I'd like to make a stand in the land of Russell Means.
Ecuador sounds good, too, but I can't speak Spanish, and also can barely digest beans. Very far from anyone I know and I don't think I could handle it, even though they seem like wonderful people.
Next year I will be able to collect social security (if it's still there). After that, maybe we could spend half a year here and half a year there or something. Moving everything we have amassed would be a logistical nightmare.
Well, I will trust in the process and know that some sort of guidance will come through for us all and things will fall into place.
aho

Anonymous said...

"I sure would be nice if we could get together this year... maybe those that could bring a tent and pitch it in the backyard around the fire pit?"

I'm game!

Anonymous said...

This may have been covered in earlier posts, but fa’s buying out the local Costco reminded me that that’s not all you can do.

It occurred to me the other day walking home from the grocery store, that
you all need to look at all of the food growing around you that you don’t now eat. What I reminded me was seeing the miners’ lettuce growing beside the sidewalk -- in very poor dirt. And the latest chic thing is purslane in salads, and our grandmothers picked dandelion leaves. We eat only a small portion of the edibles we have available to us, and if it’s coming down to starvation, maybe it’s best to know what else there is. Didn’t they used to grind acorn meal? And some people say roasted grasshoppers are quite tasty altho I’ll pass on that.

I’m pleased that Montana brought up sprouting -- seeds are very easy to sprout, good for you, you can do it in your kitchen, and they taste good and add a lot to your meals.

Anybody have any ideas of what’s available growing wild in their neck of the woods?

gemini

Anonymous said...

Welcome, gemini! I don't remember hearing from you before. So glad that people are coming in to sit in the light of the fire and speak. Good observation about the wild stuff. We should all be more aware of what the earth provides for free. Up here in the high desert, there's not a whole lot, though. Even the Indians mostly ate huckleberries, fish, and game. We do have dandelions, and I'm sure a workshop on permaculture and wild edibles would be well worth the effort. Good idea.

Much of what we have been discussing is also being kicked around on survivalacres.com. I hadn't gone there in a few days, and the latest posts are important reads. People feeling isolated and rejected if they are trying to make preparations, needing more support and getting overwhelmed. Supplies getting scarce now that the lamestream is hinting that things "may" become tight. Pretty daunting stuff.

Additionally, in terms of the food police, dig this quote from one of his readers:

"The commodity farm program effectively forbids farmers who usually grow corn or the other four federally subsidized commodity crops (soybeans, rice, wheat and cotton) from trying fruit and vegetables. Because my watermelons and tomatoes had been planted on “corn base” acres, the Farm Service said, my landlords were out of compliance with the commodity program.

I’ve discovered that typically, a farmer who grows the forbidden fruits and vegetables on corn acreage not only has to give up his subsidy for the year on that acreage, he is also penalized the market value of the illicit crop, and runs the risk that those acres will be permanently ineligible for any subsidies in the future. (The penalties apply only to fruits and vegetables — if the farmer decides to grow another commodity crop, or even nothing at all, there’s no problem.)

In my case, that meant I paid my landlords $8,771 — for one season alone! And this was in a year when the high price of grain meant that only one of the government’s three crop-support programs was in effect; the total bill might be much worse in the future."

And, this is in AMERICA, people!! What the fuck?? Once again, I am shocked and appalled.

I do think we need to circle the wagons, and at least pow wow face to face. Let's kick around the where and the when that would be good for the most.

RAS said...

Good post, murph. Be very, very careful what you say, however. This passage "There are moments when the screaming voice in my head takes over, when I can barely live with myself over these observations. That’s when I have those self defeating fantasies of violence. That is when I have to turn to activities instead of thinking to push the screaming voice back down its hole. As always, I keep asking the question to no one in particular, “when will this end?”" could be more than enough to get you in trouble these days! Unfortunately.

MF, thanks for the advice on the spirit guide. I will try to follow it. What you said about being a child in Oklahoma reminded me of my own child. I grew up mostly around Oklahoma but other areas of the South as well, and when I was a very young child, almost too young to remember, my wildly irresponsible parents would often leave me with my Cherokee great aunt for long stretches of time while they went off wherever. (I'm talking months here.) She was nearly a 100, and starting to drift away as elders sometimes do. But at times she would tell me of the old days, of what times were like when she was young. One time, being just a child and not knowing any better, I asked her what happened and why things were no long like that? She started crying. It was the only time I every saw her cry. Funny, I hadn't thought of that in all these years.

I got a real good glimpse of the "screaming man" last night. I had to go to this fancy shin dig. Okay, I could've skipped it but it was a free meal okay? And I knew everyone there. Aho, I wondered into this know of people who were talking about hot tubs. All but one there had their own hot tubs, and that one was talking to the others about getting one, and which were best, etc. I wanted to start screaming you dumbshits! We're in the middle of a drought! What about climate change? Do you know how many people that kind of money could save from starvation? And these were all liberal, progressive types who should have known better. So I ducked at early and went to a free dance at the local arts center, with the rest of the hippies. Grrr.

Anonymous said...

howtheneoconsstolefreedom.com has a lead article today that is an upper to read. It's a sort of future scenario where the neocons are destroyed and the grassroots has taken over. Nice to read something optomistic for once. Here's a quote:

"You will not remember next year which new cell phone you had but you will remember the things that really matter. Your local news will be what matters most.


“Frank Truehearted got a record number of strawberries from his garden yesterday. See him if you want to trade. He says he would like some asparagus. Kelly Morganstern has started her own lemonade stand at the corner of Harp and Philo Streets. You can buy cups and cookies for Local Exchange or for script, your choice. The Chocolate Chip Cookies are to die for.


And now for the National News..."

Just thought I'd pass along some good cheer.
aho

Palooka's Revenge said...

regarding my comment yesterday about screaming, etc. RAS is ABSOLUTELY correct, it "could be more than enough to get you in trouble these days!"

any day actually. but especailly now. and from here on. thats why it is wise to always do this kind of work in the privacy of our own space. it was irresponsible of me to not include this caveat in my comment. thx for the reminder ras.

moving and/or acting out emotional charges "out there" can and do trigger the gap. and the gap is a very nasty place.

lets take an extreem example. you want to know what road rage is all about? its about whats being held unmoved in the gap being suddenly triggered in a state of denial and acting out the perceived reality. BANG!!! the best way we can protect ourselves is to move our chit. but by all means do it in private.

Palooka's Revenge said...

"If you haven't read it yet, here's a copy of Professor Yuri Fialko's paper as published in Nature, where he states that the Southern San Andreas Fault Zone and the San Jacinto Fault Zone combined, now have enough strain accumulated to cause the Big One."

...http://www.syzygyjob.com//index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=35&topic=249688.0

Palooka's Revenge said...

rp... re those goes anomalies you were asking about....

"Oh, researchers know what causes auroras: Charged particles from space rain down on Earth's upper atmosphere causing the air to glow where they hit. But (here is the mystery) there was no sharp gust of solar wind to account for the outburst Jorgensen witnessed. Where did it come from?"

main page article this morn @... http://spaceweather.com/

that doesn't solve your enigma but does speaks to the mystery i've been observing which amounts to earth events typically associated as resulting from solar wind interactions with no apparent solar winds showing up in the goes data.

Anonymous said...

and on the lighter side --

I have a hummingbird feeder, the model with tiny perches under the red plastic "flowers". I took the bee guards off because they got mold on them that I couldn't get off. My bees are all busy in the alyssum, so I didn't think there'd be any problem.

Yesterday I noticed a goldfinch trying to land on one of the perches. After several tries, it did manage to and started drinking the sugar water from one of the flowers. The hummingbird was sitting in a nearby tree and zoomed over to reclaim his feeder. But when he got closer, he decided they could share it after all. But he wasn't happy about it.

The goldfinch has been back repeatedly and seems to have learned how to get itself onto the tiny perch on the first try.

Loribelle said...

Murph & Freeacre,

Thank you for mentioning us on your Web site. We’re happy you enjoy Mother Earth News.

Liked the post on septic issues. Glad it was helpful.

Laura Evers

Mother Earth News

For more great articles, check out our brand new Web site!

www.motherearthnews.com

Anonymous said...

from willthomasonline.net
Rants and Whispers:
excerpt



"HELL EXPLAINED BY CHEMISTRY STUDENTHell Sign

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs using Boyle’s Law, which states that gas cools when it expands, and heats when it is compressed. One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let’s look at the different religions that exist in the world today.

Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle’s Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, “It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,” and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct……leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting “Oh my God.”

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED AN A+"


-rp

Anonymous said...

lolol...well, I don't believe that our Mother, the Earth, would contain a "hell" as it is portrayed. However, there is a certain satisfaction in imagining the souls of Darth Chaney and his kind becoming the molten core for awhile, then slowly working their way up and out of an undersea vent and be transformed into bottom slime or tube worms... I would think that is a natural consequence for blowing the privilege of becoming a human being.

Anonymous said...

Hey, Laura Evers! Nice to hear from you! If you have a way to get a couple of hundred copies of the Feb.issue with the septic system information in it for our little community, it would be greatly appreciated. I looked around town, and they pretty much aren't here to buy. We are having another public meeting on March 19 with the county commissioners, and we'd like to get the word out.
Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

Due to being an athiest, I have few friends and those few that do tollerate my athiesm have asked me why I do not believe in their god. I tell them, there is no god. And I have proof:

DICK! Cheney, Bush, Gonzales, Mukasey, Rice, O'Reilly, Coulter, Hannity, Limbaugh, FDA, FCC, CIA, FBI, Murdoch, Blackwater, Santorum, Perle, Wolfowitz, Clinton, Monsanto, ExxonMobile, Peloci, Read, GEEZ!! and the list goes on and on!!

And all of those above, plus countless others, are alive and well and will continue destroying this world.

Later-

Dude

Anonymous said...

ah, yeah, it's ATHEIST. Sorry about that.

Was anxious to start typing names.

Later -

Dude