Monsters, Madmen & Couch Potatoes

A picture of Brie babysitting one of the rabbits. She seems to be the sanest one in the family.

by freeacre

Monsters, Madmen, and Couch Potatoes

freeacre


Universe, it seems, is putting enough examples of what I would I would lump together as “delusion” to prompt me to write a post about it. I mentioned in a comment recently how we attended a public debate between candidates for county commissioner. When asked to give himself a numerical placement, with “One being Barack Obama and Ten being Ronald Reagan (an inherently stupid question), one of the candidates gave himself a Ten. Then, he became overcome with emotion, thinking of Reagan's vision of American being a “shining city on a hill,” and teared up, explaining that “I just love this country so much...” Of course, the Murphinator's dropped jaw and steely gaze was an exception to the general reaction of sympathy in the room. Given that Ronald Reagan's accomplishments included closing the mental hospitals in California and throwing patients into the streets, thereby starting the “homeless” phenomena in this country; putting an end to the programs to conserve oil begun by President Carter when it became clear that domestic oil production had peaked; cutting taxes on the rich that has led to the outrageous disparity of wealth in this country between the rich and the poor; the systematic destruction of unions; the deregulation of the financial industry which is now destroying the wealth of the planet, well, I hope it is clear why we would consider his idealization of Reagan “delusional.”

To enlarge upon this theme, a movie that had been in our Netflix queue for awhile showed up. It was entitled “Shutter Island.” Directed by Martin Scorcese and starring Leonardo DeCaprio. I would rate it as one of Scorcese's best. It's a tight-knit psychological thriller set in the 1940's period just after the war. DeCaprio is a U.S. Marshal sent to the island to investigate possible wrong-doing at the creepy mental hospital. A female patient has apparently disappeared from the “escape-proof” island, similar to Alcatraz. Upon further investigation, it seems that the psychiatrists who run the hospital have ties to secret government programs, one of the shrinks in charge was a former Nazi, and lobotomies are performed in a part of the grounds that have been declared off limits.

I don't want to give away the whole story, but the movie has been haunting us for days and has prompted many discussions between murph and myself as to the nature and function of paranoia and delusion. Lets harken back to that roomful of confused Reaganites. Despite the facts that the U.S.A. Is woefully behind almost all the “developed” nations in life expectancy, birthrate mortality, math and science education, literacy, disparity between the rich and poor; the deterioration of our environment and lifestyles; and the horrendous health and dental care in this country, these people tell themselves and each other that “We're Number One.” We are the Best, the Bravest, the Luckiest, the Most Free, the Envy of the World. Sorta reminds one of the pitiful North Koreans making tearful homage to their “Dear Leader,” doesn't it?

Shutter Island ends with the question, “Given the choice between living as a monster or a madman, which would you choose?” Good question. We've been chewing on it for days. Negative interpretations of reality are labeled paranoia. Rosier-than-real perceptions can be labeled delusional. Can they both be coping mechanisms that shelter us from a reality that is worse than we can accept and live with?

The human mind is capable of incredible feats to protect itself against hideous abuse. The most extreme is “splitting the personality,” or dissociative disorder. The original innocent personality contrives alternate personalities that are more able to deal with circumstances that are beyond their control, and then “inhabits” them separately as a way to cope with an unacceptable reality that they are powerless to change. Insanity. We say that they have been driven mad.

Paranoid personalities create elaborate, imaginative, and oftentimes brilliant alternative explanations for what is going on. Dad is not simply an arrogant, self-centered, malicious prick, for instance. He's really a spy for the empire of Orgon, a planet in the Sirius star-system who is posing as a plumber and being mean to his kids while serving his nefarious off-planet overlords....

Where am I going with this? I'm wondering if insanity can drift from individuals to the greater culture. Hearkening back to that roomful of true believers, I recall other dramatic examples of ill-conceived, intense, some would say, “crazy” misadventures in history. The Crusades, the Salem witch trials, the Inquisition, the Stalinist and Maoist excesses, as well as lynchings, burning women at the stake, and the Holocaust come to mind. What brought on these atrocities? What were people telling themselves and others to justify such cruel actions? Were they crazy?

I can't help but wonder about these things as, more and more, I note that the population seems to have lost their senses. I read that an alarming number of us are taking psychotropic medication, and that much of it is proving to be permanently damaging to the brain. This, in addition to the manipulative brain-washing perpetrated by the mass media in their advertising, news, and social dramas meant to keep us compliant and BUYING THINGS. Or, am I just being paranoid?

Are the Wall Street investment bankers and their associates just flawed human beings much like the rest of us, who have succumbed to the temptations of greed and avarice in the face of enormously lucrative inducements? Or, are they minions of the Illuminati, spawn of the reptilian Annanaki, who are here to create suffering and servitude?

Monsters or madmen? The third choice in the movie, Shutter Island, was lobotomy. Go in through the eye socket, scoop out the painful memories, and leave one desensitized, diminished, but comfortable.

Go back to the television, Citizen. Nothing to see or think about here.

What Stampede?

freeacre

Well, it's October and officially Fall. I love the Fall. Colorful trees and shrubbery, brisk nights, the harvest coming in, looking forward to Thanksgiving, etc. But, there is one aspect of this Fall that is a little different this year.

Dire Predictions. Well, hell, dire predictions are nothing new at this campfire. Damn! We've been preparing for financial, political, natural and un-natural disasters, resource depletion, and every possible way we can think of for things to go to hell for years. So, No Big Deal, eh?

My son keeps telling me not to be fearful and to quit imagining the shit hitting the fan. He says it's bad for me. I agree that fear can be bad for the body and soul, but that denial is stupid and planning ahead makes me feel safer, not more fearful. He says I should have more fun. I agree. I just accepted an invitation from a friend and neighbor to come and sit in her hot tub under the stars with her tonight. I can hardly wait! Also, the Bean and I am planning a trip to the coast on my birthday with a visit to the aquarium in Newportin February. So there!

Being out of debt eases my stress. It took a long time to earn my impeccable credit status, after suffering a catastrophic medical bill related bankruptcy years ago, the death of my husband, etc. etc. But, it got done, and murph and I have remained debt-free for years and have perfect credit as far as I know. It feels good. I'm not trying to brag, I'm just telling ya...
But, I have just made the decision to put a few necessities on the card that may not get paid off right away. I'll tell you why.

Cliff High's Alta Reports of the Shape of Things to Come have been anticipating for YEARS now that in November of this year, some huge “tipping point” is going to be reached that will be extraordinary. I mean, like the History Channel's Mega-Disaster-Series-Huge. Read them for yourself. Go to Half Past Human, spring for the ten bucks, and read the last one. Or, read George Ure's Urban Survival posts regularly and he will relate the major points for free, or subscribe to his Peoplnomics reports, and he'll go into more detail.

Cliff and George are not the only ones. Since we are now approaching the Galactic Center on our solar system's regular trek through space, assorted “lumps” in normally clear space are becoming more frequent. It's like following a gravel truck down a highway. You can't be real surprised if your windshield gets cracked by a flying stone. A quick check of the chart of near earth asteroids on spaceweather.com will demonstrate just how frequent these near earth encounters are - and those are only the ones that are being tracked.

Then there is the recent news of foreclosures being halted in 23 states. Why 23 states? Because those are the states that require a judge to okay foreclosures. Well, heck, that doesn't sound so scary! I mean, no foreclosures is a good thing, right? Well, yeah. It means that people could continue to live in a dwelling instead of under an overpass for a year or two. But, it also means that the paperwork involved – the titles to the properties are so hopelessly screwed up, lost, or full of fraud that not only foreclosures, but sales will come to a standstill as well. Think of it. All those millions and millions of dollars and all the billions and trillions of derivatives that banks have created from those original loans... all the pension funds and city and county governments who bought those derivatives... on and on around the world. When it dawns on people just the magnitude of what is behind this quagmire, look for a stampede out of the stock market and into commodities like gold, guns, food and arable land. Dmitri Orlov has written a hard-hitting essay on the cascading effect of peak oil that can be applied to the real estate meltdown in many ways as well. It's called “Peak Oil is History” and is available at culturechange.org. Denninger on themarket-ticker.org wrote an incisive analysis of the potential real estate foreclosure debacle probably before anyone else. It's called “MERS/MBS/Foreclosure Goes RICO”; as well as Howard Kunstler, Gerald Celente, Mike Ruppert, and many others. They aren't just talking about “sometime.” They are talking about five weeks.

So, I am breaking my own rule and putting more on my cards than I will pay off in one month. If all hell breaks loose, a bill in the mail will be the least of our worries. Paying an interest charge to the frigging criminal banksters will be annoying, but I can live with it if nothing terminal happens. But, on the other hand, in case there is some life-altering event, say between November 8-12 or so, you may want to make a list of things you really couldn't do without if the trucks stopped running – and maybe the lights went out.

We decided on three things right off the top: I use a teng electrical stimulator devise to reduce the pain in my back. The electrodes don't last very long. I ordered several more. I also need some medication for my eyes that I would be in a world of hurt without. I just placed an international call and ordered a year's worth from Canada. And, in the event of the electricity going out, we just ordered the propane to fill up the tank with backup gas for a year.

Note that these things are necessities that we will use anyway, even if everything is smooth sailing and nothing bad happens. And, it's not so much money that I'd have to become a fugitive from justice if I could not pay the bill right away. I'm not planning a cruise around the world, only to have to dive overboard on the way back home to avoid the creditors – although if I am still alive after 2012, I may decide to re-visit that decision...lol.

My point is, that only you can assess what is the most necessary for you right now just in case November is a BOP – a Bitch of Outlandish Proportions. Let's hope that we will all enjoy a great Thanksgiving with all the trimmings. Let's envision all gathering after the feast sharing good wishes for each other at the Campfire – truly grateful for our lives, families, friends, and this beautiful planet that we share.

I am all for living in the moment, enjoying life as it comes, and all that. But, I don't want to be in the middle of a stampede for the exits, either. So, right now would be a good time to do whatever it is that you have been putting off in terms of gathering together the things you can't live without.

“I see you.” I see the beauty in you. I don't want you to be miserable. If that's so bad, well, I guess I'm bad.

Talking Means ... What?

A new beautiful rock circle left in the wilderness by Hot Springs Wizard

by murph

On September 23rd, Montana posted a comment on the last posting which I think is very important. One part of his comments; “what about when we string an entire sentence together with each word in the sentence interpreted according to the experience each has with that word. see what i mean,? in reality there is no truth in actual comprehension as to what another says,”

What I take that to mean is that we can never really understand what another person is thinking by what they say, or write for that matter.

I have touched on this subject before, several times. I want to examine this in a bit more detail. Montana, if I put it out there different than you see it and misrepresent what you said let me know. Anyway, this is my expansion in my own style on the subject.

I assert that communication between humans is tenuous at its best. This statement is based on what Montana said and my own experience and study of the process.

All language is a system of symbology, that is, sounds strung together that mean something relating to the external reality we experience.

This symbology is unique to the individual person due to the fact that all of our individual experiences are normally unique events relating to the individual, with same exceptions. But, in almost all cases, the interpretation of those events will be different than other individuals sharing the event. This has been tested over and over again to the same conclusion.

There are thousands of volumes written on the study of what people mean when they are communicating. Copi and his “Symbolic logic” I consider one of the best.

This symbolism gets in the way of understanding and can have disastrous consequences.

The only solution I can see to this problem is for human to develop absolute empathy, that is, the ability to know what another person is feeling or thinking when talking or writing. Doesn’t appear this will happen, at least in my lifetime.

It does appear to me that the understanding of another person’s use of verbal symbols can be very enhanced by close association for an extended period of time, depending on similarity of experiences and interpretation of those experiences.

What this lack of understanding of the symbology in communication lends itself well to what we call propaganda. That is, the convincing of people to accept a particular notion of reality by the twisting, spin, redefinition of words, and the way the words are strung together to produce an emotional reaction. We are being besieged by this in the news in all its various forms, but principally TV. Look at how the advertising industry uses this. With little exception, we are presented with something for sale that is associated principally with some aspect of sex, or inadequacy, or fear, of desires, or---, on and on. We are whipsawed back and forth by this propaganda to experience fear, hopefulness, anger, sexual frustration, caring and a multiplicity of other abstract emotions as a means of control of our perceptions of the reality around us. In all cases that I can think of, this propaganda always contain assumptions that are not presented as such. This appears consistently in religion, politics and personal communication. If a person is attempting to truly point out his perceptions of reality, he must also include his assumptions. An assumption is a statement that can be backed up by observations, (the most common way of making assumptions) empirical testing, or even theoretical assertions, and is hardly ever addressed. We are all guilty of that omission. There is good reason for this. It would complicate communication by orders of magnitude, and the assumption is that there is a common experience that can be included and drawn upon, which I have shown above to be complete nonsense in almost all cases that can be sited. So we abbreviate our communication by making assumptions that the listener has a shared experience and perceives it the same way. Thus, as Montana says, “in reality there is no truth in actual comprehension as to what another says,” Also, notice how words are twisted around to mean something else. I had a very good friend that once insisted that greed is a very good thing; we have greed for food and for air etc. I never did get a response to the question as to where in hell he got that definition nor that the common usage of the word had nothing to do with that concept. I’m old enough to notice that over my life time, principally from the main stream media, how key words have been spun into meaning something quite different than the original meaning. That particular process seems to be speeding up in my perception. Notice what the word “terrorist” now means. Go ahead, look it up in a dictionary older than 20 years and compare it to a new dictionary. Wikipedia goes on for pages in the discussion on its meaning. There evidently is no agreed upon definition internationally. And yet, the word is slung around within the media and conversations and assumed that the reader/listener knows what you are talking about. The operational meaning from old dictionaries and old political science texts indicate it is a means of scaring (terrifying) civilian populations into compliance by threats or use of violence, principally killing. In its discussion of “terrorist” it says; “In November 2004, a United Nations Secretary General report described terrorism as any act "intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing any act".[18] And; "Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them."[22] One more; A definition proposed by Carsten Bockstette at the George C. Marshall Center for European Security Studies, underlines the psychological and tactical aspects of terrorism:
Terrorism is defined as political violence in an asymmetrical conflict that is designed to induce terror and psychic fear (sometimes indiscriminate) through the violent victimization and destruction of noncombatant targets (sometimes iconic symbols). Such acts are meant to send a message from an illicit clandestine organization. The purpose of terrorism is to exploit the media in order to achieve maximum attainable publicity as an amplifying force multiplier in order to influence the targeted audience(s) in order to reach short- and midterm political goals and/or desired long-term end states."[25]

But I guess that is just plain old collateral damage to accomplish a political end. Now days, a “terrorist” insists on adherence to Constitutional principles. How weird is that?

Here is a report that is worth while going through. http://www.foia.cia.gov/2025/2025_Global_Governance.pdf

Want some more? Take a look at this little news story and tell me who is being a terrorist if you haven’t read about it yet.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/us-war-protesters-cry-foul-over-fbi-terrorism-raids-20100925-15rkr.html

As I stated above, it appears to me that long association with others can lead to a better understanding of what they actually mean in the verbal symbols they use. Maybe what Jesus really was talking about when he stated that you should love another as yourself?

Of course we still have to deal with the psychopaths that are going to be found in any human society. And god knows, our supposed leaders are not going to be concerned with shit like this. They consistently manipulate verbal symbols to get the reaction they desire from the listeners. It’s all about manipulating perceptions. Dig Obama, a very charismatic speaker, but he is no less guilty of this than Bush or any other elite out there vying for power and money. At least he knows how to use a complete sentence.

So where does this leave us? Because we don’t really have alternatives, as I see it, those people that are aware of the problems in communicating with symbols (language) will continue to try and clarify and define the mental processes behind the symbols so that the people they are trying to communicate with have some understanding of the points made. Notice how long the regulars of this blog site have been around and how much change has gone on in perceptions. It appears to me that we have achieved at least partial understanding of what is being said. None of us will ever have total understanding; our backgrounds are just too varied. But, we keep edging toward the total understanding. I suspect that as this kind of understanding increases, emotional closeness also increases between people and that is an anathema to those that hold power over our lives since their goal is to divide and conquer, which they have for the most part been successful.

All of this leads me to question whether or not I actually understand Henny Penny (our oldest hen) when she talks to me. Sigh. Just how much common experience do we really have? Lol.
So now, your assignment if you choose to accept it, is to go through this posting and look at the assumptions I have made, (remember the old TV series Mission Impossible?). Are they common to your experiences or not?

A lovely setting sun captured by our own Montana Freeman..

Fat LIke Me - Bracing for the Onslaught

Rhubarb custard pie and veggies from the backyard.



colorful carrots, ready to blanch and freeze

by freeacre

I attended the “Food Summit” at the Bend Community College, and it was really quite the event. I was amazed by the participation of so many different people, agencies, farmers, chefs, and individuals - all wanting to be involved in the food localization and sustainability movement. It was well organized, with a renowned main speaker, lots of seminars on different topics, a coming together to share what we learned, and a circle at the end where people committed to what they are going to do to make a difference. Also impressive to me was the large number of younger folks who were in positions of responsibility for the event itself and also for raising the awareness for the pressing need out there for sustainable food. Interestingly, the most underrepresented group was sitting county commissioners or city council representatives. I guess they are not as yet real interested in the problem of “food insecurity” in the area. That’s what they call hunger now - “food insecurity.” Statistically Oregon is second only to Mississippi in food insecurity.

I learned that there are big problems with the local production of food, difficulties with distribution, rules that favor Big Agriculture, and limitations imposed with certification, licensing, permits, and fees to sell locally produced food. On the one hand there is a big push to encourage people to eat healthy, lose weight, and encourage food security. But, on the other hand, Big Agriculture and Big Grocery lobbyists seem to have written the rules to serve themselves. Another surprising problem is that people seem to have forgotten HOW TO COOK! Yup. Over half the people surveyed in Madras, for instance, reported that they don’t know how to cook food from scratch. I guess many people are not watching The Food Channel or picking up any magazines or cookbooks that surround them….hard for me to fathom. Maybe the schools should include cookbooks in their reading programs. I’m serious.

I came away with the renewed purpose to teach people what they can grow and raise in their backyards and to teach them how to cook it. I am hoping that we will be able to use the kitchen at the Grange or Senior Center to present cooking and preserving classes to those who need and want to learn.


But, I attended a session on Health that turned out to be part of a national effort to fix the “huge” problem of obesity in this country. I learned what an enormous liability fat people are to the insurance companies, employers, and everyone and everything you can think of. We use up more gasoline because we are too much of a load in autos. We take off to much time from work because of problems linked to overweight… on and on.

So...just could not resist sending this letter to the young yuppie professional women working for a couple of local hospital programs involved in the new push to identify and fix fat people, and who led the workshops:


Dear Kati and Beth Ann,

After attending the  Food Summit yesterday and the presentations on Obesity and Health, I must write to tell you of my concern. I was the obese woman in the room.... I am, of course, more than that, but when the focus is on weight, "obese"  becomes the definitive perception.

Although I agree that obesity is a very real health challenge in America, I fear that all this emphasis on "teaching obese children and adults how to eat according to the food pyramid" is only going to target the overweight population by the insurance companies and the corporations. In the long run, it will not reduce the weight of the vast majority of obese people, but will insure that we will have a new population to discriminate against. The fat person will become the new "Negro", as the term was used in the old days to keep brown people marginalized and out of the mainstream moneymaking track and in "their place". It is already a reality, and soon it will be justified by all kinds of statistics that prove that we are just a liability to the country and to employers of all kinds. If two people apply for a job, even if the fat person is more qualified, which one will an employer hire? The fat person who is seen as a potential high medical risk that will inevitably cost the insurance company and/or employers more money? I think not.

After all, our economy is contracting due to outsourcing so many of our jobs. They are not coming back. A new segment of the population needs to be taken out of the running for the decreasing number of jobs. Eventually, all sorts of laws and penalties will be instituted on what will be viewed as lazy, ignorant, slobs who are "scientifically" proven to not be worth their weight in anything but scorn. Their genetic code will be labeled substandard. They will be relegated to housecleaning and janitorial jobs with no benefits of any kind. Have you ever watched the movie "Gattaca"? If not, I recommend it. You can rent it from Netflix, and it stars Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawk, and Jude Law.

Just as the American Cancer Society focuses on "finding the cure" for cancer while ignoring the causes of it, the anti-obesity campaigns will focus on eating disorders while ignoring the many other root causes of obesity. Those causes, to my mind are: contaminants in our foods which mimic estrogen, the decreased quality of our soils which render our vegetables lacking in nutrients, the side effects of many of the prescription drugs which makes it almost impossible to lose weight while taking them, the stress most common in the working class, the cost of nutritious food, lack of sleep, the effects of spending too much time in front of the TV set or playing video games, and lack of unstructured free time to play outside for children. Also, of course, the marketing of high fructose corn syrup, chemicals and dyes, in almost all foods marketed for kids or commuters.

.

Yes, obesity is an important issue. We are being poisoned and fattened up like cows in a feedlot by  Big Agriculture, Big Pharma, Big Business. And talking about it is not going to change it. Eating according to the Food Pyramid is not going to change it, since it was bought and paid for by Big Agra. I never gained as much weight as when I followed the Dean Ornish program for weight loss and heart health. My metabolism seems to be ruined. Even though I was a vegetarian for years. But, that's me. What I am saying is that there is no one right way for everybody. The vast majority of folks who are obese are desperate to lose weight and try everything - mostly to no avail. But, weight loss is Big Business and a lot of people are making big bucks on it.

Personally, I think that it would better serve people to raise consciousness on the issues of poverty, stress, lack of free exercise programs for children, low self-esteem, the side effects of pharmaceuticals in our food, water, and not making a living wage. But, that won't happen. The big money won't let that happen. In this global economy, they need us to be peasants.  Obese people are going to be marginalized and then persecuted in the ways I have said and probably many more that I have not thought of yet. Just watch.

As I have said, I grow my own food and live as sustainably as I can. I am going to organize cooking classes and canning classes once I get the Grange kitchen certified. I am doing this on my own. No legislation involved. Nobody telling me that I "have" to. I will not be paid for it. But pretty soon if the trends continue toward curtailing liberty and choice, the authorities will tell me that I can no longer eat my own food that I grow on my own land without a license, permit, or micro-chipping my animals - all in the name of "food safety."  Then, I guess they will have to kill me for my own good.

Like it or not, fat or thin, smoker or non-smoker, we are all going to die. If I choose to risk dying at 70 rather than 90, it is my choice - or should be in a free society. The only way the young people today are going to have a chance of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is if the whole system gets off our backs. Personally, I think it would take an asteroid hit. As our solar system approaches the center plane of the galaxy, this solution gives me at least a glimmer of hope.

Duck and cover.

I bet they have not received a letter like that before…

Making a Timely Response

murph exercising his inner Neanderthal with the hides


Had to do something with the mint and lettuce from the garden: Tahbouli salad

By murph (& freeacre)

Scrapwood asked the question in the previous comments, "Why are their no longer people like Mario Silvio (deceased). Where are the protests and why do young people just sit on their hands and do nothing.

I have a tentative answer for you.

I have had the excuse to talk a bit with younger people lately, 20 somethings. It appears to me that many of them realize that something is terribly wrong. It also appears to me they have no idea what to do about it or they realize the futility of trying.

IMO, it appears to me that we missed our chance (if there ever was one) to do something important in the direction our society was taking back in the 60's -70's. Yup, lots of protesting, lots of ideologies floating around back in the day. However, you probably noticed that nothing came of it. I attribute that to the naïve-ness of the population at the time. I was into some of it. We really didn't understand the nature of what we were dealing with or fighting against. We actually believed that protesting in the streets would/could change anything substantial. How wrong we were and we got beaten up bad. We were also under the impression that we lived in a system where those that governed actually had our interests and well being at heart. Wrong again.

I read/listen to speeches and documents by people that have some influence and the fringe activists of every stripe. None of them will actually admit (if they realize it) what the problems actually are and as you should realize a problem can't be fixed if it is not defined correctly.

This country, socially, decided a long time ago that bigger, more, and more complex was better and that there was nothing wrong with greed. Consequently, there is never enough of anything, enough of actions or things or laws or ANYTHING. Always more and more.

While we have a very few examples of (what we call primitive) social groups where that drive for more is suppressed or not indulged in, it certainly is prevalent in all of what we call western civilization. There is much written concerning this drive for more of everything and what drives it. Take your pick of the explanations; it is readily observable no matter what its driving force is. This is the fallacy of western civilization; that there is always more available. Which is true for the short term. For the long term, we have all kinds of examples from history of what that attitude brings down on the societies of the time, collapse and chaos. (Notice that I do not use the term anarchy for this.) In the 60’ and 70’s we forgot that in the end analysis, there is no free lunch, that infinite expansion is not possible, that there are always consequences for decisions and actions, that there are absolute limits to growth dictated by the environment we live in, the physical reality of finite stuff on this globe.

Back in the day we forgot that there is always a certain percentage of the population, (usually around 1%) that are by definition psychopathic, that is, they will do absolutely anything they can get away with to further their acquisition of stuff and power over other people. They are absolutely ruthless in this pursuit. Supposedly, our system of government was put in place to limit and control those tendencies. Over time this was corrupted almost absolutely until we now have multiple crises over it. The psychopaths are truly and absolutely in power. The people put into power now have almost complete control and are expanding their control over the absolute essentials needed for personal survival. These people are not content with having every single material thing at their disposal and enjoyment. Instead, this is expanded into the desire to absolutely control everyone else on the planet also. I have to admit that I don’t understand or have any empathy concerning this drive to control people like this. Right down to the local level in communities, there are those that wish to control what people can or cannot do even when it is benign. Science is often utilized to prove that the control is necessary for the general good. In some cases, that might even be true. But, unfortunately, most of the “good for you” control has nothing to do with your or my well being. It is control for control sake and not to enhance the experience of living and making it safe. Every time I hear someone say that there ought to be a law about something I want to scream. Shit, we have laws governing right down to what we can eat or drink or smoke or even say or think now. There are never enough laws to satisfy the psychopaths. Of course, the psychopaths don’t have to live according to those laws, just everyone else.

We no longer live by the concept that your freedom stops at the end of my nose and visa versa. We no longer have the live and let live paradigm in our society. Instead, we have opted for more central control over our lives and opted for the greed is good concept. We are now looking at a future of consequences of those decisions.

If my above observations are correct, protests are an exercise of futility. Just a good way to let off emotional steam and maybe get beat up bad by the police and see just how much physical abuse one can take and still function. Protest will not change anything currently dealing with how the system operates nor change the minds of the people in power.

Which brings me to the subject of attitudes of the people in power. It seems obvious to me that there is a rather large chasm between those in power and everyone else. It also appears to me that those in the political elite (the minions for the PTB) have little if any respect for the peons below them in economic and social status. We are viewed as being useless eaters, stupid and untalented. For a good rant on this see; http://www.joebageant.com/ titled “Understanding Americas Class System”, his latest missive on this subject that I totally agree with. If Bageant is correct, what will protests or any other agitation actually accomplish? To have protests and challenges to policies and actions to have any affect on those policies and actions, those initiating them must recognize the validity of the protests, which they sure as hell do not.

One thing I do maintain is that if we want serious changes, we have to stop feeding the psychopaths and ultimately take away their power. That’s what revolutions are about. The problem is, historically, revolutions always seem to end up with another set of psychopaths in power. They may tread lightly for a while and make all kinds of promises, but in the end it is their power they are concerned with. World power is one giant Medusa. Cut off one head and another takes over. If this madness is to cease, the Medusa must be eliminated, by any means possible. That means that the controlling elite over the political elite has to be eliminated. How that would be accomplished I have no idea. Feel free to put the ideas of how to accomplish it out there. You will find that most will laugh it off. There is still that hope that one may one day become part of that elite too. I have not much hope for the elimination of the psychopaths, to be frank, at least in my lifetime. That’s for the younger generation to deal with. No wonder they are skateboarding.

(an add-on by freeacre)

I have a soft spot in my heart for the next generations. My very dear son is a GenX-er. I think these kids mostly fall into three categories, in terms of how they are choosing to deal with the struggles that they face:

1) They are techies who think that there is a technical fix to the problems ahead. These are the ones devoted to green power, better phone apps, or whatever. They are optimists (like my son - go figure) who are scarcity deniers, and who also do not read the papers, watch the news, and could care less about political parties. They are probably acutely aware, however, of the many ways the military could stifle them with the newest pain rays or other computer chip horrors if they were to openly rebel.

2) They join the military, due to economic realities, joining the ROTC in high school, or playing too many video games. These mostly working class kids are cannon fodder for our endless series of wars to prop up the stock market. Hoo Raaah! There are not enough of them being born here, which has required a permeable southern border.

3) Our “surfer” dudes, skateboarders, snowboarders, X-treem types or their tattooed and pierced wannabees who I think of as “shunners.” These kids are disenchanted with the foreseeable future, would like to get off the grid, and are trying to figure out some ways to get out of the system, since they have long since figured out that it holds nothing good for them. They have turned their backs on the corporate ladder (obviously), and are attempting to Not Feed the Beast. They do not read newspapers or watch the news, except maybe John Stewart on Comedy Central. These are the ones who call in sick to their pizza delivery jobs due to the National Snowboarding Championships being on the tube.

That’s my take on these Dear Ones born into this House of Horrors. Personally, my bet is on an asteroid to hit the re-set button.



Hot Springs Wizard preparing for Burning Man

"Bug Out" Time & What the Hell is the Government Doing with Food Regulations?

Our esteemed poet, stone mason and gardner, Rockpicker, with his exemplary cauliflowers



Rockpicker & Oldensoul's lush Montana garden



by Murph

Hmmm, ok ok. So I made a bad pun out of the title. You’ll see why coming up.

On Monday morning’s Urban Survival, by George Ure, he spends some time on bugs, or the lack of them. This has been a contention of mine for a good many years now, and I’m going to be mixing some personal observations and a few factual tidbits in with this.

First, some factual stuff. We have all heard of the honey bee problems going on for a number of years now. They are dying and not because of some truly obvious reasons. I have read that the fingers are pointing at some virulent bee-disease is at fault or environmental pollution or farming practices of spraying everything with insect killer chemicals or climate changes or, or, or. Those of us who have at least a marginal concern over this realize that is going to have some nasty consequences. Many agricultural crops (stuff for human consumption) depend on bees for pollination of the plants. Now bees are not the only pollinators but they are very near to 80% of pollination insects needed out there in agricultural land, noted for their efficiency in doing the pollination and the side benefits of honey in the hives. A huge business has developed around professional bee keepers trundling big trucks full of bee hives around to various farms and making money doing that. Many have gone under because of the fairly substantial die off of the bees. Around here in central Oregon, I am lucky to see 10 honey bees all summer. I have no idea where they have a hive. There are simply not enough flowering plants around here to keep a substantial amount of them alive. Now go over the mountains to the west and the ecology changes a bunch.

As a side note, this last weekend, Freeacre decided that we had to get away from the place for a while, drive the 70 miles to the west and go blackberry picking and save the money from buying from the commercial growers at the farmers market. After a 2 hour drive, we finally started to see some blackberry bushes along side the road, got off the major arteries to get us some “free” fruit of the vine. Now I got to admit that after going berry picking in the Midwest, (a lot of years ago now) this particular experience was a bit disappointing. The berries were very small, not in big clusters unless we wanted to figure out how to get into the middle of a patch that was 10 feet thick. (Ouch, the thorns I had forgotten about). So about an hour later and maybe 8 cups of berries picked by the two of us, we packed it in and headed home. Now I remember my mid west experience of going out by myself and picking a variety of wild berries and in an hour filling a 2 gal pail. (except huckleberries and currents of course, that like picking bee-bees and trying to fill a bucket). What the hell, is it the weather? Or our timing was bad? Lack of bees? Or what? Anyway, I found the yield was not worth the effort. LOL Made for some relatively expensive 8 cups of berries. Good flavor though.

Oh yes, where was I? The bugs.

I realize that most people are perfectly content to have fewer bugs around to annoy us. Sort of like the bears, coyotes, snakes, big cats, and all the other critters that get in our way and cause us discomfort. Try getting someone aside that hates bugs and try and convince them they are necessary. Good luck. The only good bug is a dead bug you know. At the Monday Urban Survival posting, one section that Ure talks about is peoples observation that there are less bugs about. So here is my observation on this.

When I was a kid growing up in the Midwest, mostly in small towns or fairly country living, the amount of bugs was stupendous. I had an extensive pinned butterfly and moth collection. I have not seen any of the large Lepidoptera moths for over 30 years now. Same thing with butterflies. Now I’ve moved around a lot in this country, lived most of my life in the Midwest in one location or another and now am in the Pacific North West. I think my observations have at least some validity.

Flat out, there are fewer bugs around. Even here with the wet cool spring we had, the mosquito population was way down. We have also noticed that there are a lot fewer birds too. Probably because there aren’t as much bugs for food. The last time I lived in Michigan, I lived on a small rural kettle lake. At that time I was amazed at the lack of bugs. Very few mayflies, hardly any crickets or grasshoppers, few frogs, salamanders or toads. The only thing we had in abundance then was the Gypsy moths for which there was extensive aerial spraying. Any connection do you suppose? Where we are now, there is quite a bit of mosquito spraying going on. This year we had very few bugs around, definitely not much in pollinator types, and far fewer birds. The only birds that seemed to be in normal populations were the wild doves and the coveys of quail. And we consistently put out wild bird food. Freeacre has a book of wild birds that extensively covers this area. It has post it notes all through it of species of birds we cataloged when we moved here. This year, hardly any of them are back. What the hell is going on?

Also on the home and national front lines is the news about the giant egg recall for salmonella poisoning. Folks, I sure hope you realize how much of a scam this is. It is bull shit in the extreme, among many others. It has been a whole bunch of years since it was safe to eat a raw egg you know. Salmonella is everywhere dealing with poultry, on and in the eggs, on and in the flesh of commercially grown birds. It is very common, particularly in the flash of chickens. You just have to cook everything very well and it kills all them little critters that give you the runs and where you feel like hell for a few days. Now just what is hell is the FDA getting so excited about eggs and is doing nothing about the unsanitary conditions in the marketing of chicken meat? It’s the money honey, duh. I also presume you all realize that there is a push to get rid of organic truck farms, back yard vegetable gardening, selling of home grown produce and animal products. Hell, our local Grange has a potluck every month and we were just notified that we could no longer advertise that the public was welcome to these, because of food safety problems. Our Grange cannot sell non certified kitchen bakery products made at home because they are not commercially packaged.

Now lets take a look at this. Every year there is food contamination where a lot of people are sick from eating commercially grown and packaged foods. When was the last time you heard of someone getting sick from a potluck dinner? I haven’t ever heard of one. So just who is contaminating the food supply? It sure isn’t Gertrud’s fancy casserole for the monthly potluck.

It is the same thing here with our fight with the county over the “nitrates in the drinking water” fight. We have yet to see a documented case of sickness in all of Oregon from nitrates in drinking water. In fact, nationally, it is so rare that most doctors have no idea what methemogobinemia is and have never heard of it, but a huge amount of money is revolving around that very issue.

It sure appears to me that the big ag businesses are trying their damndest to completely take over the food supply. Remember back a bit where there was proposed that every single domesticated critter in the country was to be biometrically chipped? That one didn’t fly because big ag would lose too many bucks on it. So now they are creating bull shit food crisis’s to scare the beejesus out of everyone for more regulations that don’t cure the problems. After all, if you can absolutely control the food and water supply, you can make a whole bunch more money and have a whole bunch more power over peoples lives.

When in hell are the citizens of this country going to wake up on these issues and take some damned serious action around it? Welcome to the new world order.

Masters of War

Just some pictures of the food we are eating from the backyard. Feels good to be at least somewhat successful swimming against the tide...
freeacre

As usual, the conversation has been really good, but I feel compelled to continue it with a new post so that the comments don’t go to a crazy level. Actually, I want to start with a comment p put up from the last batch, because it exemplifies one of the zillion aspects of how totally corrupt and self-serving the parasitic Overlords have become. The continuing wars in the Middle East or wherever the latest trumped up justification leads is just beyond belief. Here’s p’s comment from yesterday”

today's pop quiz allows for 3 guesses and the first two don't count. what pri contractor to the military is this...

1) They were in charge of clean water, but most of the water sources were found to have no treatment in them at all, and when tested were found to be chock full of pathogens and parasites

2) They were in charge of food, but refused to allow 24-hr. access to meals (not cost-effective), so since soldiers' mealtimes were all known, that's when mess halls and camps were attacked

3) They were in charge of laundry (getting $99/bag for it), but soldiers said their clothes came back dirtier than they went out, and they were forbidden to wash out their own clothes in the sink

4) They were in charge of soft drinks, which were given to the soldiers for free, but the camps were charged $46/6-pack to purchase them, yet the drinks were made locally in the desert, thus the transportation cost was almost nothing

5) 'Cost Plus' payment basis meant they are given a percentage of everything they spent; therefore they had no incentive to save money

6) Company orientation meetings were in the most lavish seaside hotels in Kuwait,w/unlimited access to sea and sports vehicles, and employees were paid by the hour to use them. Ordinary employees living in the company compound were provided everything, including deluxe living arrangements, 5-star meals catered in every day, and were each (including secretaries) given a top of the line ford or chevy truck fully loaded, while those higher up were given hummers and cadilac escalades.....for the desert... One former employer saw a copy of the 3-yr. lease for an employee's SUV--it was $7,000/mo. (totalling roughly $250,000 for the vehicle, over a 3-year period, that anyone in america could purchase for around $45,000 ... american taxpayers paying the difference...)

7) When the wrong equipment was delivered (frequently), it was left in its packaging, and then eventually the warehouse was set on fire and everything declared a loss and insurance collected.

8) Brand new (military, not civilian) trucks costing $75,000-$100,000 each were shipped w/out little things like oil filters, which of course quickly trashed the trucks and required purchase of new ones...In fact, regulations required that the soldiers blow up defective trucks and destroy them, so nothing was ever salvaged from these vehicles....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chXjCtkymRQ&feature=related

its said there's a right place in U for everything that exists. i wish these fucks god speed on their journey... p
The disgusting thing is that after the malfeasance of KBR and Halliburton has been exposed on television, Youtube, and in congressional hearings, these war profiteers continue to be granted additional contracts! The troops continue to get used for every sleazy contrivance, putting their lives and health at risk, while these moral lepers haul in the Big Bucks. It goes on and on. Throughout the Republican and now the Democratic administrations, it hasn’t mattered.
The moral turpitude of the military/industrial /banking cartel just defies even my penchant for ridicule and abuse. All the while hypocritical lip-service is given as to how much this country cares for its troops. I could gag.
Now, new feelers and hints are slipped into our consciousness every day. Pakistan, Somalia, Iran, Lebanon…. Who’s next? Drones operated like video games from remote bases in the states drop bombs on wedding parties and reporters. And who is called to task? The guy who “leaked” the information. He gets sentenced to fifteen years. Anybody with more than Corn Flakes stuffed into his cranium knows that the wrong people are going to jail.
“War props up the economy,” is it said. Oh, really? Just who’s economy? Sixty-six percent of the income growth between 2001 and 2007 went to the top 1% of all Americans. For the first time in U.S. history, banks own a greater share of residential housing net worth in the United States than all individual Americans put together. The bottom 50 percent of income earners in the United States now collectively own less than 1 percent of the nation’s wealth. Wars are not adding any money to my economy. …or yours, either, unless you are a Federal worker, maybe. The average Federal worker now earns 60% more than the average worker in the private sector(stats from Survival Acres). These are the minions who facilitate the atrocities that the Rulers decree. Add in the media talking heads, the sports stars, and the Hollywood glitteroti who distract us from the daily grind.
The rest of us are in the “service economy.” Read that “we are their servants.”
I remember when we were not servants. I was reminded last night when we watched a DVD I picked up at the video section of our local grocery store. It was entitled, “The Chicago 10.” What a blast from the past. It was a surprisingly good and creative portrayal of the anti-Vietnam War era. Great footage of the thousands of protesters and leaders of the anti-war, pro-peace movement. The demonstrations in Chicago during the Democratic Convention and the subsequent trial of the 8 and their lawyers. I would say that it was right about the time that they all were convicted and sentenced to do time, that the Overlords decided to really destroy our freedom and put us on our knees.
It’s forty years later, and they’ve pretty much got it all locked up. Our only hope is that their success will be their undoing. Now that they’ve killed so many and planted the seeds of revenge into millions, poisoned the land, sea, and air, stuptified the masses, made most of us sick, depleted the oceans, wasted the water, and fucked up the climate – are they happy now?
There’s an Italian scientist who reports that he is finding that the Gulf Stream has stopped, due to the changed viscosity of the water from the oil and dispersants in the Gulf. If that’s the case, they’re going to have to fit Buckingham Palace with some serious insulation as the Ice Age returns to the British Isles. And, if the electrical grid goes down due to the increased electromagnetism of the sun, the Wizards of Wallstreet are going to be in a world of hurt when all their electronic money blinks out. Poof! I don’t think anybody’s gonna want to carry their bags anymore.
Contradictory reports on just about everything continue to drive me crazy. Happy talk on the lamestream about how the oil is disappearing from the Gulf, the economy is “recovering,” the well has been permanently capped, the stock market is strong, etc, flies in the face of the unemployment figures, the real estate being held in reserve by the banks, the corexit in the Gulf waters, the near bankruptcy of many nations (including ours), and being on the verge of WWIII.
I guess the most serious outrage, though, is the corruption of the war mongers and their minions. The damage that they are doing to our troops, our nation, the poor people we go to war against and the planet in general are just beyond words. Just keep this all in mind in the next election… third parties or “none of the above” is going to be my option. Where is Ross Perot when we need him?