Galt's Gulch or Bust! 2.0

SOPA/PIPA Blackout

2012-01-17T21:37:00.000-06:00

I made every attempt to black this blog out so I could join in on all the protest fun, but I am just not web savvy enough to get the job done. So, in lieu of a blackout, I thought I would post this awesome picture I found of a naked President Obama riding a unicorn and taking a crap on the Constitution.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

The Catch-All Update Post

2012-01-09T17:52:00.000-06:00

It has been a while since I have posted on this blog. I have had a lot going on in the last few months, and posting here has been been bumped down on my list of priorities. So, I thought I would fill you all in on what has been going on with me lately.

I bought a new house! The time came to open a new chapter in my life. This was mostly initiated by my wife ~~nagging~~ persistently informing me that the duplex we were living in was too small for two adults, a kid, and a dog. Renting one side and living in the other was a good choice a few years ago, but we have grown out of that plan. So, we went all out. I am now the proud owner of a 2000+ square foot McMansion with four bedrooms, a two car garage, and a pool on one acre. Not exactly the permaculturesque country home I wanted, but it is in a country suburb and I have enough room for a small orchard and a large garden. So, now we have a home, and duplex to rent. I am well on my way to becoming a slum lord! The move was interesting, as it was a nonevent for me. In what will probably go down in marriage history as the biggest dick head move of all time, we signed the closing paperwork on the new home on a Friday and I left for a looooong business trip the following week. It worked out great for me, I didn't have to move anything! I am so thankful I found a woman that puts up with my crap.
I finally got around to writing a book! After some correspondence with the Morse Brothers, I settled on writing a science fiction novel. Its going to be Ender's Game meets 1984 with a big twist. I have the whole book written in my head, and a good plot outline and character profiles on paper. The problem is, I have been staring at page five for about a month and a half. I need a swift kick to the gonads to get me motivated again. If anyone has any pointers, comment below.
I have written a ton of material! But it has all been for personal enjoyment. I have been writing what will one day become "The Memoirs of Sgt. Jarhead." Stories from my past, humor from my childhood, war stories from the Marines, Gonzo Americana, and ridiculously saccharine sweet nostalgia that only my family would understand. I will probably put this collection together in a binder and give it to my grandchildren someday.
I jumped back on the Ron Paul bandwagon. I have decided that voting this year is better than not voting. This is the last time I play their silly little game, but maybe, just maybe, we can do something good for this world. I am trying to keep some faith in humanity. Perhaps its a pipe dream, but I'm going to give it another shot.
I started planning "A Big Trip." I tend to get bored with the status quo in life, and I need to shake things up sometimes just for the experience. I have found that if I do not find a constructive way to shake things up, I find destructive ways to shake things up, and that never bodes well for me. I have an informal "bucket list" of things I want to do before I die, and I am hoping to mark one of them off in the near future. Two of my "big ticket items" on the bucket list are: Through-hike the Appalachian Trail, and Kayak the Mississippi river. I do not have the time to invest in through-hiking the AT anytime soon, so I have started planning the kayak trip. Most people start in St. Paul, Minnesota and end in New Orleans, Louisiana; but I want to make this trip a little more personal. It won't be a complete Mississippi float. I am thinking of starting in the creek in my home town and taking that all the way, smaller river to bigger river, until I hit the Gulf of Mexico. This trip is still over a year away, but I am making plans for it now. I plan to publish another blog that chronicles my experience as I go. I have also considered doing a video blog on YouTube, or a podcast as I go. I am still trying to figure out how I can make internet capable electronics, kayaking twelve hours a day, and sleeping in a tent work together. Any recommendations would be appreciated. More to follow...
I picked up a new hobby. I have been toying with the idea of making my own wine and beer for a few years. I finally pulled the trigger and bought the equipment to do it. My dad has a friend that has been making his own fruit wine for years, and it has always been an interest for me. I have a good buddy that makes his own beer, and a lot of what he has produced has been pretty good. But, I am not the kind of person to take someone else's hobby and make it my own. So, I am trying something different. I bought 18 lbs of raw honey and plan to turn out a five gallon batch of mead. I don't know anyone who makes honey wine, so in my quest to be different, I figured I would give it a try. Once I get everything up and running, I will write a post on it.
I started reading different books. I have been on an education kick lately, and the whole experience has left me a bit jaded. Below is a short list of some of the books I have read over the last few months that have sent me down the rabbit hole...

All of these books are absolutely amazing. They will open your eyes to a wide range of topics that many people never think of. Some of these books will scare the hell out of you. My study on the Trivium method, Formal Logic, Fallacy, and Philosophy has been a real eye opener. But, I have put it on hold for a little while. I have started to discover something that I have always known intuitively, but could never really put my finger on until now. Intellectuals can be unbelievably arrogant dick heads. And now I know why!

It has become a struggle for me to have a normal conversation with friends and coworkers lately. Understanding logical fallacies is enough to drive me batty because I hear them ALL THE TIME now. I have literally found myself walking out of the room in the middle of a conversation because of this. All I hear is: Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc, Red Herring, Strawman, Ad Hominem, Circumstantial Ad Hominem, Poisoning the Well, etc. I really thought this study would be a good thing for me. I was looking for a way to organize my thoughts and worldview and avoid fallacious thinking. I also wanted to strengthen my communication skills so I could get my point across without resorting to dirty tricks. Now, I just want to crawl back in Plato's Cave and look at the pretty dancing shadows on the wall again. I get way too bent out of shape about things that don't seem to matter to most people. Or maybe its because it doesn't matter to them. So, I have put it all on the back burner for a while, at least until I can find a way to point these things out to people without sounding like an asshole. I also need to find a way to keep my blood pressure from spiking when I hear blatant failures in logical argumentation. The other option is to start making new friends, but I might be getting a little too old for that. Cest la vie!

So, here are some of the other books I have read in an attempt to bring my mind back to normalcy. I am making a real effort to stop acting like a pretentious jerk.

I have also gotten away from listening to my normal podcasts. As much as I love Peace Revolution, School Sucks, Free Talk Live, Free Domain Radio, Unplugged Mom, and a whole host of other freedom and education oriented shows; I just can't take being so high strung all the time.

I highly recommend checking out The Joe Rogan Experience. It has just the right amount of serious talk, crazy talk, and humor.

So that is my catch-all list of excuses for not posting. Take it for what it is worth. I've been having a hard time coming up with material that fits into the general theme of this blog. Plus, I am sick of sounding like an asshole. Any recommendations for writing topics would be great, and as always, guest posts are welcome.

Interesting Links:

SHTF School

Progressives and the Ron Paul fallacies

Drugs, Guns, and Madness in the Ron Paul Revolution (A hit piece so ridiculous, I question if it is real or just satire.)

Union President: Time to Make Charter Schools 'Ours' (Carry this a step further and you will see why tax vouchers for schools are a big mistake.)

The Joy of Mead

The Art Of Manliness

1001 Rules For My Un-Born Son

So, drink a toast to me! Maybe try some honey wine. I am trying to take the advice of friends and family and "lighten the fuck up."

Vote Ron Paul! See you at Galt's Gulch!

The Final Nail in the Coffin

2011-11-30T06:48:00.001-06:00

Well, here we go. If this doesn't scare the pants off of you, nothing will. My last video about propaganda aside, I think this is an issue that we should all legitimately be afraid of.

Propaganda: Repetition and Fear

2011-10-12T17:23:00.000-05:00

Well, here it is folks. My very first YouTube video. It is a propaganda film about propaganda. I hope you enjoy it! Be sure to pass it around. Let's get this thing going viral!

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Quote of the Week (Century)

2011-10-05T23:08:00.001-05:00

"What is a television apparatus to man, who has only to shut his eyes to see the most inaccessible regions of the seen and the never seen, who has only to imagine in order to pierce through walls and cause all the planetary Baghdads of his dreams to rise from the dust."

~Salvador Dali

(Favorite quote of a favorite family member. Turn off the brain sitter!)

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Quote of the Week

2011-09-17T22:43:00.001-05:00

"Books constitute capital. A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years. It is not, then, an article of mere consumption but fairly of capital, and often in the case of professional men, setting out in life, it is their only capital."

~Thomas Jefferson

Quote of the Week

2011-08-30T23:57:00.000-05:00

"As libertarians, we often are very sensitive to these kinds of arguments being made against us in terms of marginalization, because we are not arguing for the left or right of the status quo, we are actually working to shift the paradigm. And so, people will find, naturally, any excuse to resist that message, to resist challenging their own perspective on the world, because it is uncomfortable..."

~Adam Kokesh in an interview on Free Talk Live 08-29-2011

The Debate Heats Up

2011-08-21T05:31:00.001-05:00

It looks like Walter Block and Stefan Molyneux are at odds with each other over Ron Paul's presidential bid. Block published an article at Lew Rockwell that attacked the anarcho-capitalist view, and Stefan produced a YouTube rebuttal. In my last post, The Ron Paul Dilemma, I touched on some of these topics.

Ron Paul and the Self-Hating Libertarians by Walter Block at Lew Rockwell

Stefan Molyneux YouTube Rebuttal

While I do not agree with everything Molyneux has to say (I am a Christian, he is an atheist) he does raise some valid points. The very end of the video is the most powerful by far. He drives home the point that Ron Paul presiding over a collapsing economy would be a very bad idea. Like I said in my last post, I am voting for Ron Paul because I do not think he can win. Political libertarianism is a necessary step on the road to a voluntary society, and my vote lends legitimacy to the ideas of freedom.

Molyneux makes an excellent point when he says that we are not ready for a voluntary society now. That goal is a long way off. Molyneux's plan centers on educating children in the non-agression axiom (the golden rule.) Ron Paul and Walter Block take the political libertarian approach. I think both are needed. We cannot flip a magic switch and produce a voluntary society tomorrow. Yet, the only way for children to be brought up in liberty oriented homes is for their parents to discover freedom. Ron Paul can act as a catalyst for that mode of thinking.

This kind of bickering and divisiveness only serves the powers that be. We need to focus on where we agree, not on where we disagree. I am a Christian, and I listen to Molyneux's podcasts even though he is an atheist. While we have major differences in theology, our political and economic philosophy are close to the same. I focus on these points of agreement, and I think Walter Block should do the same.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Read This and Laugh

2011-08-09T02:37:00.000-05:00

In a Brave New World filled with Deltas and Platonic cave dwellers, only one man can save us! Craig Cavanaugh stars in Among The Wal-Martians.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

The Ron Paul Dilemma

2011-08-05T08:25:00.004-05:00

"If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." ~Emma Goldman

Political Libertarianism vs Voluntaryism / Minarchism vs Anarchism

All libertarian philosophy is based on self ownership and the non-agression axiom. All humans are sovereign over their own life, liberty, and property. Aggression is intrinsically immoral. No person has the right to initiate force against another human's life, liberty, or property. This precludes acts of violence in self defense because force may be required to defend against an attack on one's own life, liberty, or property.

All libertarians fall into one of two categories: minarchist or anarchist. Minarchist libertarians believe that the only moral government is one which does not violate the non-agression axiom. This is the philosophy of the Libertarian party. They believe that the system can be changed through the political process and that they can create a government that abides by the non-agression axiom. In this post minarchist libertarians will be referred to as political libertarians.

Anarchist libertarians believe that all governments violate the non-agression axiom, and therefore are by their very nature, immoral. History has shown time and again that all governments, sooner or later, tend toward tyranny. Anarchist libertarians reject all forms of government, even those that may start off as non-violent, because the potential for violence is always present. By definition, government is a monopoly on violence or a legitimate use of force. Anarchist libertarians believe in a society based solely on voluntary mutual exchange and strict personal adherence to the non-agression axiom.

The term Anarcho-Capitalism is derived from the anarchist libertarian view. It is a way of stating the political and economic views of a philosophy at the same time. Other philosophies like Anarcho-Communism and Anarcho-Syndicalism use the same language. Some people who subscribe to the anarchist libertarian philosophy prefer the term Voluntaryist over Anarcho-Capitlaist. The psychological dimension of the word anarchism brings to mind a picture of a hooligan throwing a molotov cocktail. Where anarchy previously meant lack of government, it has come to mean lack of order. The word voluntaryist paints a prettier picture. The terms are interchangeable however; anarchist libertarian sounds scary, voluntaryist does not.

A standing joke in the voluntaryist community is, "The only difference between a libertarian and a voluntaryist is about seven years." Political libertarians have already taken the first step in thinking outside the box. They see the illogic of the status quo, two party system; but they still hold on to some of the minor trappings of politics as usual. Once they are provided with enough evidence of state violence or the potential for state violence, they begin to see the total illegitimacy of the state.
This is the transitional point between being a political libertarian and a voluntaryist (minarchist and anarchist). This transition happens quickly for some, and in others it takes a lifetime to realize.
Political libertarianism becomes a self defeating philosophy in the end. It is a transitional worldview between supporting the status quo and all out rejection of the state.

The Voting Conundrum

The divide between political libertarians and voluntaryists can best be viewed by their willingness to vote or their refusal to vote. Political libertarians try to change the system from within, and will consequently vote for libertarian candidates. They see voting as a non-violent act and allowable under the non-agression axiom. Voluntaryists refuse to support an immoral system, and see voting as support for that system. To a voluntaryist, voting is guilt by extension.

The getaway driver in a bank robbery is just as guilty as the the thief who entered the bank and stole the money. A woman who helps plan the murder of her sister's cheating husband is just as guilty as the sister who pulls the trigger. Aiding and abetting a criminal who commits an act of violence is just as immoral as committing the act yourself. Since all governments are ultimately derived from the will of the people, every voter is responsible for actions of the government they institute. All governments have the potential for aggression because they hold a monopoly on violence. When viewed through this lens, the non-violent act of voting becomes violence by extension.

From One Extreme To The Other

A voluntaryist's stance on non-voting is a principled one. It is not to be confused with apathy. Voter turnout in America is abysmally low every election cycle. This shows the political indifference of many people in our society. Campaigns like MTV's Rock The Vote only serve the powers that be. They encourage people to vote even though many people do not take the time to research and fully understand the ramifications of their actions. This differs greatly from actively choosing not to vote on moral grounds. Voluntaryists who choose not to vote have been through the political machine and come out on the other side.

Apathetic Non-Voting to Status Quo Voting to Third Party Voting to Principled Non-Voting

People may start out as indifferent or apathetic. Some people have no knowledge of politics or interest in it. Once a person finally takes notice of the political process, they are presented with two competing world views: modern day liberalism and conservatism. This left/right paradigm is the status quo, and most people spend their entire lives trapped in this system. Once a person realizes that there are more logical options available than what the status quo has to offer, they move to third party voting. This is where people find political libertarianism. And finally, when a person understands that violence is eternally linked to government, they move to a point of no longer supporting that system. This is the final transition to voluntaryism. There is nothing beyond this point because all forms of anarchism are at the extreme end of political theory.

The process above looks remarkably similar to Plato's divided line. The end state on the right is a principled stance. It is not an apathetic unwillingness to participate, it is a moral unwillingness to participate. This process, however, can take a much more ominous route.

Apathy/Indifference to Status Quo to Understanding the System to Exploiting the System

Once a person understands how things really work, they have a choice to make. They can either opt out of the system and no longer participate in it, or they can become a part of the state. Politics attracts the power hungry. Politicians use their knowledge of the system to exploit everyone who is still trapped in the status quo paradigm.

The real war of ideas is being waged on the far right sides of these divided lines, between those who refuse to support the system, and those who mean to exploit it. Politicians may pose as being part of the status quo, but their agenda lies on the far right side of the line. If you do not understand any of this, you are still part of the status quo. See my post on Plato's Cave and the Divided Line for a better understanding.

The Status Quo

The status quo populace has two main reasons for voting. On the surface, people will vote a politician into power in the hopes that the politician will abide by the will of the people and solve all of society's problems. Inevitably, that politician will fall short in this duty because the populace has placed unrealistic expectations on the politician. Government cannot solve our problems, and one fallible individual in power cannot abide by the will of all the people.

Hiding under the surface, there lies a covert incentive for voting. This motivation might not even be realized by those who vote, but they make use of it all the same. When government fails to meet the needs of society, the voting bloc has an easy scapegoat for their own personal responsibility in the matter. They can always claim that the politician did not perform as expected. People mistakenly blame individual politicians in government for the problems caused by government as a whole. This process continues voting year after voting year, ad infinitum.

This is the loophole of representative democracy. People are allowed to claim that the politician they voted for did not live up to their expectations, or they claim that they voted for the politician's opponent. Of course, things would always be different if the other guy won the election. All personal responsibility is thus alleviated from the individual voter for the actions of the government, even though all governments derive their power from the individuals. The voter claims to be off the hook, and the status quo rolls along as usual. Voluntaryists call the individual voter out, and lay the blame directly at their feet.

Some people spend their entire lives lost in this haze of partisan politics and support for a system that ultimately does the exact opposite of what it claims. With an almost religious zeal, people put their trust and faith into the system, and never realize why things continue to get worse. They may even move beyond this point to third party voting, but in the end they are still personally responsible for the actions of the government they helped to elect.

Participation of any kind in this system lends legitimacy to it. Every time a person votes, they loose the moral high ground. Every time a person votes, they turn all decision making processes for their own ethics over to the state. They are, in essence, placing their moral judgement in the hands of someone else.

A Political Broken Window (The Nuclear Option)

This debate between minarchism and anarchism has concentrated on non-voting or voting for libertarian candidates. There is, however, another option. Lest we forget the excluded middle, this option must be explored as well.

A boy throws a brick through the front window of a bakery. A crowd gathers and begins to discuss the ramifications of this act. One man notes that the broken window provides new job for the local window maker. After much deliberation, they all agree that breaking the window was a good thing because it created work that was not previously available. The baker has to pay for a new window, and this, they reckon, stimulates the local economy. The baker, however, had money set aside to buy his wife a new dress. Now instead of paying the dress maker, he is forced to pay for a new window. The money would have been spent anyway, and the local economy would have been stimulated all the same. The difference is, the baker lost the option of choosing what to spend his money on. The window maker is richer but the dress maker is that much poorer.

The allegory above is referred to as the broken window fallacy. It was used by Frederic Bastiat to describe the hidden costs of immoral actions. It illustrates what is seen and what is unseen. The broken window fallacy is often used to refute the Keynesian assertion that a war based economy is productive. Economics aside, we can look at the broken window fallacy as the excluded middle in a libertarian's decision to vote.

A few crazy individuals believe that the best way to show the failures of government is to give the politicians enough rope to hang themselves with. The thought process is to vote for the worst possible candidate in the hopes that they will make all the wrong choices. The end state is the complete collapse of the US economy and political structure. (I call this plan the nuclear option because relies on total destruction as an end state.) Where voting for a libertarian candidate is akin to throwing a wrench in the gears of the machine, the nuclear option attempts to ramp up the RPMs so fast that the machine breaks down. This kind of reasoning is the broken window fallacy applied to the world of politics. Our energy is best used where we have a choice. Purposely breaking the system down leaves a big IF hanging in the air. The vacuum left by this plan could be filled by something more violent and much worse than the current status quo.

A not-so-nuclear variation of this option would be voting for a status quo candidate, not because he is the worst possible choice, but because a few of the candidate's campaign promises sound somewhat libertarian and non-violent. There were a few libertarians that did this in the 2008 election and the consequences were obviously disastrous. The website Libertarians For Obama is one such example. Obama's rhetoric about legalizing marijuana and ending the wars in the Middle East fooled some libertarians into voting for him. Those libertarians learned a valuable lesson about trusting a status quo candidate to keep his word.

Bob Barr and Wayne Root and Ron Paul...Oh My!

Status quo conservatism claims to stand for small government, as does political libertarianism. The litmus test for libertarianism is the non-aggression axiom. Conservatives say they stand for small government, but they have no qualms about sending the military off to fight a war of aggression, or sending police onto private property on a drug raid. Libertarians consistantly apply the non-agression axiom to all issues. Be wary of people claiming to be libertarians who support state sponsored violence.

In the 2008 election cycle a strange phenomenon began to take shape. The lines between the status quo and the Libertarian Party became hopelessly blurred. Bob Barr ran as the Libertarian Party presidential nominee with Wayne Allyn Root as his vice presidential running mate. Ron Paul, a political libertarian, ran on the Republican ticket.

Barr, a former Republican congressman from Georgia, was a die hard neo-conservative during his time in the House of Representatives. He voted against legalization of medical marijuana, voted in favor of the USA PATRIOT Act, authored the 1996 Defense of Marriage act, and voted in favor of the Iraq War Resolution. In 2002, redistricting in Georgia did away with Barr's position in Congress, and he found himself running against an incumbent Republican from another district. The Libertarian Party took him to task on his support of the drug war. They ran a devastating ad campaign against him durning the election, and Barr was ultimately defeated.

Four years later, Bob Barr joined the Libertarian Party and two years after that he announced his candidacy for president on the Libertarian Party ticket. Barr was selected as the LP candidate at the Libertarian Party Convention ten days after he announced his candidacy.

After Ron Paul was defeated in the Republican primary, he held the Third Party Unity Conference at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. Bob Barr sabotaged his own campaign by not attending, opting instead to hold his own press conference at the same location two hours later. Subsequently, Ron Paul endorsed the Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin.

While there may not be enough evidence here to convict Barr of retribution in a court of law, the circumstantial evidence points to him plotting revenge on libertarians for their involvement in his congressional defeat. This whole affair, and others, leads many libertarians to the conclusion that Bob Barr is still a neo-con.

Wayne Allyn Root is another example of a libertarian who supports state sponsored violence. The articles on his website show that he is frothing at the mouth for the opportunity to continue America's involvement in foreign wars of aggression in the Middle East. Like Barr, he is a Neo-Con wolf in libertarian clothing. His book, which will not gain any publicity here, is nothing more than an apologetic for the policies of his heros Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater and the philosophy of William F. Buckley. Wayne Root is not a libertarian, and yet, he is considered by some to be the frontrunner for the Libertarian Party ticket in 2012.

Given the evidence over the last few years, it seems that the Libertarian Party has turned into a dumping ground for small time conservative Republicans who have been used up and spit out by the status quo political machine, and for neo-cons who know they would never have a chance in the "big leagues" of the Republican party. Bob Barr and Wayne Allyn Root have infiltrated the Libertarian party because the Republicans cannot use them.

After Ron Paul lost the primary to John McCain, many political libertarians opted to write him in rather than vote for Obama, McCain, or Barr. Others voted for Chuck Baldwin. Paul immediately took his campaign contributions from the Ron Paul Revolution and used them to start the Campaign for Liberty. This organization has used the internet to communicate the ideas of liberty to thousands of people.

If there is one point we can take away from the 2008 election cycle, it is this: The status quo is a monster. It has been slowly gnawing away at the Libertarian Party in an attempt to marginalize its base. More recently we have seen the Tea Party swallowed hole by this monster. Neo-conservatism wants its voters back, and the progressives are more than willing to foment the anger.

The time for political libertarianism was in 2008, before the omnibus spending bills and the transfer of 16 trillion dollars from "public" to private hands. The system may have been able to change from within at that point. Truth cannot, however, be found in speculations about what could have been. That bird has flown the coop. Any hope of an easy recovery brought about by political libertarianism has long since past.

For anyone who has been paying attention for the last few years, it is very apparent that the US government is now rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. This ship is going down. Terms like "bailout" make that abundantly clear. When you have a hole in the hull, the boat is going to sink. The big gamble is allowing a libertarian president to preside over that sinking ship. Although a crash is most likely what we need to reboot the system, Ron Paul at the presidential helm may set the liberty movement back decades.

The positive aspects that have come out of this whole mess are worthy of note. The 2008 Ron Paul Revolution and the Campaign for Liberty have provided a starting point for thousands of people who had never previously considered libertarianism as a viable option. In 2008, Ron Paul was one man alone. He was the only candidate who endorsed any form of libertarianism in the mainstream. Two years later, his son, Rand Paul was elected as a Senator from Kentucky. The upcoming election cycle features two libertarian candidates on the Republican Party ticket: Ron Paul and Gary Johnson. Libertarian ideas are catching on and gaining popular acceptance.

The problems we have in America right now are a much needed wake up call. The population needs all of the doom and gloom. They need to live in a state of never ending crisis. It serves as undeniable proof that the status quo is a massive failure. As our political and economic condition gets worse, more people are beginning to look for solutions outside the box. Libertarians are waiting with sound philosopy and open arms.

Options

When all the aforementioned information is taken into account, we can identify five options for the libertarian in the 2012 election.

1- Stand on principle and not vote
2- Vote the status quo (the nuclear option)
3- Vote for a third party candidate (Libertarian Party)
4- Vote for Gary Johnson
5- Vote for Ron Paul

For most voluntaryists, the only option is non-voting. A vote for the status quo only supports the machine. The nuclear option is out of the question. If the 2012 Libertarian Party looks anything like it did in 2008, a vote for a card carrying Libertarian might as well be a vote for a status quo neo-con. Since Ron Paul has been through the process already, his name is already widely recognized. Gary Johnson is a relative newcomer, and will not have a large impact like Ron Paul could.

This leaves only two viable options. Vote for Ron Paul or don't vote at all.

Conclusion (My Take)

A voluntary society may sound extremely utopian to the status quo populace or the novice libertarian. It should be noted that the state only exists because of the population's participation in it. In the same manner, a voluntary society does not exist because it is thought to be a utopian impossibility. The only thing that separates one from the other is our belief and support. Reification of libertarian ideas into reality may be close at hand, but we are teetering on the brink of destruction as well. We have an opportunity, right now, to create a better world. How this all plays out is anybody's guess. We live in very interesting times. Getting in close to the ground floor and watching all of this transpire amazes me.

Ron Paul and Ayn Rand constitute a one-two punch to the intellect. Once you get hit, it is all but impossible to go back to the status quo. I am not an objectivist, but I was so taken with the profound change that Rand's writing had on me, I named my blog after a location in her novel. Ron Paul acts as another vehicle for waking people up. I do not agree with all of his views, but those points of contention are debates within the libertarian philosophy anyway. I support him as a starting point for changing people's minds. The Libertarian Party cannot seem to find decent candidate. They run neo-cons posing as libertarians.

The biggest problem with the Ron Paul Revolution, like political libertarianism, is that it is self defeating. While it is gaining disenfranchised Republican and Democrat voters on the front end, it is loosing them to voluntaryism on the other end. The only difference between a libertarian and an anarchist is seven years. This process happens much faster for some people. I voted for John McCain, and look at what I am writing now! If the transition happened this quickly for me, there are bound to be thousands of others who followed the same path in the same timeline. This reason alone almost ensures that Ron Paul does not have a chance of being elected.

I have moved far past the point of thinking the system can be fixed from the inside. You cannot fix a system that is inherently flawed at its core. You cannot bring morality to a system that is by its very nature, immoral. Ron Paul might be able to do a lot of good as President, but he will not be able to cure all of the ills of our economy and society. Let's not place unrealistic expectations on the man. Additionally, electing Ron Paul to the presidency could be the biggest mistake libertarians ever make. He would make an easy patsy for the status quo when everything comes crashing down.

That being said, every vote for Ron Paul is a vote for the legitimacy of libertarian ideals. In 2008 we had Ron Paul. In 2012 we have Ron Paul and Gary Johnson. The Libertarian party has been infiltrated by neo-cons like Bob Barr and Wayne Allyn Root, but political libertarians are playing the same game with the Republican party. The lines between the status quo and third party options is becoming fuzzy. Maybe in 2013 these ideas will be even more widely recognized. Political libertarianism is a necessary step on the road to voluntaryism. As candidates like Paul and Johnson gain legitimacy, more people will start their journey and we can begin to transition to a voluntary society.

I support Ron Paul because he is a catalyst. He is a red pill. He is informing the masses about Plato's Cave. He is a spark that has ignited the fires of liberty in our hearts and minds. Kindled by the fuel of free information exchange on the internet, the dream of a voluntary society is sweeping the world like a prairie brushfire burning out of control. People are really starting to wake up!

I am a voluntaryist, I believe voting is immoral, and I am voting for Ron Paul.

I am not voting for a man. I am not voting for a politician. I am not voting in a misguided hope that someone can change the system from the inside. I am voting for a philosophy of non-voting. I am voting to support a starting point for the education of status quo voters. I am voting in the hopes that there will not be voting in the future. I am taking a consequentialist view of things during the upcoming election cycle. I know that ends should not justify means, but in this instance I will make an exception. I am rolling the dice and taking a big gamble. I am voting for Ron Paul because I think he will loose. This may seem like circular reasoning to some, but I think I have made my logic abundantly clear. His loss will bring more people to a voluntaryist philosophy in the end. Once people realize that we do not need the system, the system will disappear.

This is the end of the line for my time in the voting booth. Win, loose, or whatever; 2012 will be the last time I ever vote. It doesn't really matter anyway. If voting made any difference, they would outlaw it.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Further Reading

Libertarian Dilemma: Anarchy or Minarchy
Anarchy or Minarchy Is Only Half The Question Part I
Anarchy or Minarchy Is Only Half The Question Part II
Voluntaryist.com

Update

2011-08-03T05:44:00.002-05:00

Last month was another big one for the blog! My post on Plato's Republic seems to be going viral in the blogosphere. Since other blog authors so graciously linked to me, I will reciprocate.

Craig Cavanaugh at Keep It Simple Survival did a great write up and extended the topic of the noble lie a little further. He put his own personal take on it, and I have to say, it is one of his best posts. Be sure to check it out.

Bill Nye at The Elector Retards linked to Craig which linked to me. Bill's post talks about how the III% crowd turned on him.

Western Rifle Shooters Association linked to all three of us.

And finally, Ornery Bastard did a little write up on his blog about my post.

The links provided above go to the actual post I am talking about. Be sure to check out the other material on these sites as well.

Also, in the comment section of my last post I found a blog that I would like to introduce everyone to. It is called So Far From Heaven and it is authored by Old Jules. Check it out!

I have been writing here and there and I am now working on what I think will be another really great post. I have started and scrapped a few more that I thought were substandard ramblings. I may resurrect them from the dead at some point after I rework them a little bit.

That being said, other than little updates like this one, posting will be less frequent until I come up with some quality material for you, the reader. Expect maybe one or two per month. If my last post taught me anything, it is this: People want quality, not quantity. I have had 4000 unique hits on my last post in 15 days. That is more than the previous two months combined. For this little blog, that is pretty darn good. I am now striving to only write my best.

Additionally, I am considering other ways of getting my message out there. I would like to branch out into other forms of media. I am learning some new software that will allow me to create original videos and possibly a podcast.

Finally, I have been contacted by a few authors who are urging me to write a book. I have one in the works, but it is slow going. I may put that book on the back burner for a while and do some partner work with another author. He has a really good idea for a fiction book, so I am exploring my options.

Hang in there, I am working on it.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Plato's Republic

2011-07-19T10:44:00.001-05:00

This post started as a synopsis and study of the Allegory of the Cave. It turned into a critique of the entire book in which the allegory is found, Plato's Republic.

The Allegory of the Cave

Imagine a cave. Inside that cave are prisoners who are chained up in such a way that they can only look straight forward. In front of the prisoners is a cave wall. Behind the prisoners is a fire, and in between the fire and the prisoners is a raised ledge. Behind this ledge is a roadway where men walk back and forth casting shadow puppets on the wall in front of the prisoners.

If these prisoners had been raised in this environment since birth, the shadows would be the only reality they know to be true. If they were allowed to speak to each other, they might come up with names for the various shadows on the wall. They may even hold a contest to see who can guess what the next shadow will be and award each other with praise for the correct guess.

Now, imagine what would happen if one prisoner were set free. Having lived in the dark his whole life, his first view of the fire would result in pain and temporary blindness. But after his eyes became accustomed to the light, he would be able to see the cave for what it really is. From here he would be able to leave the cave. Walking out into full sunlight, his eyes would hurt and temporary blindness would again ensue. But after his eyes grew accustomed to the sunlight, he would be able to see the world for what it truly is. It would take time for him to fully understand what he was seeing, but after a while he would know the world and the things in it.

Then the liberated prisoner would remember his past and his old home in the cave. He would remember what he thought of as real, and those still imprisoned there. He would hold in his heart a certain amount of contempt for the praise awarded for their silly competitions.

If he returned to the cave, and to the prisoners, what would they think of him? Most probably they would lash out violently against him and perhaps even kill him because he revealed a truth that was beyond their comprehension.

The Allegory of the Divided Line

To understand the context of the Allegory of the Cave, we also have to look at the Allegory of the Divided Line.

Imagine a line that has been unequally divided. On one side of the divide are all things that can be seen. On the other side are all things that exist in the mind. Breaking this down even further, imagine that there is a subdivision of each side. On the side of the world of sight there are shadows and reflections of objects, and there are the actual objects themselves. On the side of the world of thought there are mental pictures of objects in the world of sight, and there are ideas and ideals. (See Picture Above) The allegory of the cave is a metaphor for the progression from one side of this line to the other. From the world of conjecture to the world of wisdom.

Put another way, Plato believed that there were four levels of reality: images, sensible objects, lower forms and higher forms. Additionally, he believed that there were four methods of comprehending these forms: imagination, perception, reason, and understanding. People on a lower level cannot understand the concepts expressed by those on a higher level.

Intelectual Progression

Combined, these allegories stress the importance of real education. We can view the cave as a metaphor for ignorance. An ignorant person is only capable of conjecture (guessing shadows on the wall). Once the prisoner is set free he is able to move from a world of mere conjecture to belief (seeing the fire and the cave). As the prisoner moves out of the cave, he moves into the realm of understanding. And finally, when he understands all that there is around him and learns to exercise reason, he attains wisdom.

Plato addresses the fact that acquiring this education can be a painful and arduous journey. When moving from one point of the divided line to another, our eyes may hurt, and we may be temporarily blinded. But once we adjust to the new concepts, we are able to move forward again.

The "Ideal Republic"

Plato's Republic is really a conversation that attempts to define justice. Plato's thinking was that if one could define an ideal and just system of government, then the same equation could be used to define a just man living an ideal life. He applies the macro to the micro, and vice-versa, in analogous terms.

Plato identifies three classes of people: the producers, the auxiliaries, and the guardians.

Producers - Those lacking intelligence, strength, and bravery. (Plato's working class)

Auxiliaries - Those who possess a moderate amount of intellect and strength, but who are extraordinarily brave. (Military and Police)

Guardians - Those who are wise, brave, and virtuous. (The government)

When taken in context with the rest of The Republic, we see that Plato intended for the enlightened thinkers and philosophers to be a ruling class. He envisioned a class of philosopher-kings who would rule over those of a lesser intellect, and a class of enforcers in the auxiliary to keep the producers in line. He proposed an aristocracy, believing that only the children of those in power had the capacity for being educated to become leaders. He knew that this could only work if those on the lower two rungs accepted the leadership of those above. Because of this, Plato devised the concept of the noble lie; a lie told to get the people of a society to passively accept their station in life.

Plato divided his thinking into a just state or an unjust state. He considered his aristocracy the only just state. Those that were unjust to him were: Timocracy, military rule; Oligarchy, rule by the wealthy; Democracy, mob rule; and Tyranny, rule by an individual. Plato did not consider the excluded middle, however. Something exists outside of a just state and an unjust state: no state. He based the premises of his argument on the opinion that no man can be self sufficient, that there must be a structured and well ordered society so that an individual can acquire the basic necessities, and that excessive liberty leads to a lack of self control. This is the basis for all collectivist thought.

Ethics (Back to the Cave)

Plato's idea was to raise an aristocratic class of philosopher-kings outside of the cave. They would be the only ones allowed to reside and be educated in the light. The other classes would be left inside staring at shadows on the wall. Plato's miserable attempt at ethics comes when Socrates tells Glaucon that the ethical thing to do is to descend into the cave and live there. This does not, however, mean that Glaucon was to go into the cave and chain himself up. The intention was for Glaucon to go into the cave and rule. Plato was basically advocating intellectual slavery as right and just.

The ethical thing to do would be to free ALL of the slaves, even if they were hostile toward you for doing it.

We Are All In The Cave

"It is not ignorance, but ignorance of ignorance, that is the death of knowledge." ~ Alfred North Whitehead

"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." ~ Confucius

What Plato describes in the Republic is eerily similar to our current condition. What we have today is an amalgamation of an aristocracy combined with an oligarchy and disguised as representative democracy.

We have a ruling class. They are educated differently than most of the population. At the risk of sounding conspiratorial, let it be noted that formal logic and true liberal arts have been completely removed from our public education system. (See further reading section below) Our military and police act as an auxiliary, keeping the producers in line both at home and overseas. And the productive class watches hours of television daily. Like slaves watching shadows on a cave wall, people dumb themselves down on a daily basis and call it reality. Everyone seems to passively accept their station in life. The noble lie seems to be working.

Our noble lie is different than Plato's. Instead of uniting the collective for some perceived greater good, it works against us all. The only similarity is that it restricts the liberty of those of us who would fall under Plato's lower two castes. I should know, I have been a member of both.

But there is hope. In his wildest dreams and deepest thoughts, Plato could not have imagined the world we live in today. We have something that has the potential to set us all free. With this tool, every man has the potential to be a philosopher. We have the potential to climb up out of the cave.

A look at history shows that certain technological innovations have the potential to spark massive shifts in consciousness through education of the masses. In the mid-1400s the Gutenburg Printing Press was invented. This was a contributing factor to the Renaissance (around 1400-1700) which was a precursor to the Age of Enlightenment (around 1700-1800). For the first time, people had access to information that had previously been held back from them.

Then came radio and television. Both of these technological innovations had the potential to unite us once and for all. They could have been used as a means to educate the masses. Unfortunately they were corrupted, and now serve to enslave rather than liberate.

Then something really big happened. The internet! For the first time in history, any information you can possibly think of is available at a moment's notice. As long as a person has cell phone coverage, he or she can access anything. The library of Alexandria cannot hold a candle next to what we have at our fingertips today. This is an amazing tool. Sadly, this medium is slowly being corrupted as well.

Summary (How I See It)

I enjoy reading the dialogues of Plato. The rhetoric employed by Socrates is priceless. His questions force a state of cognitive dissonance on his opponent, and a lot can be learned from the tactics of argumentation he employed.

The allegory of the cave and the divided line ring as true today as they did two thousand years ago. But today, seeing the shadows for what they really are is a simple process. Seeing the cave, and finally walking out into the light of day is as easy as connecting to the internet and searching for a proper education. This information is readily available, and most of it is completely free! Plato's Republic cost me nothing. It was downloaded wirelessly to my Kindle and I did not pay one cent for it.

Plato believed that only a class of philosopher-kings were capable of ruling themselves and ruling others. In times past, a system of government may have been required. Not everyone had the ability to gain understanding and wisdom. But the technological advancements that we live with today make complete autonomy possible for every single one of us. Plato's Republic is not a template for a free society. It is a blueprint for enslavement. We do not need philosopher-kings. We can learn to rule ourselves. We just have to stop playing Farmville on facebook and wake up!

Every time I think I have made it out of the cave, I realize that there is so much more out there that I need to know. I have accepted my own ignorance. I may not be outside in full daylight, but I can at least see the cave and the fire. And I am climbing my way out of the cave one little bit of information at a time.

To see the cave is the first step in leaving it, and that step is a very easy one to take.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

FURTHER READING

Anthem by Ayn Rand (Amazon)
The Great Conversation by Robert Maynard Hutchins (Full Text Available Online)
The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom (Amazon)
The Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto (Amazon)
Why People Fail To Recognize Their Own Incompetence (Full Text Available Online)
The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America (Full Text Available Online)

Hang In There, I'm Working On It

2011-07-11T10:02:00.000-05:00

I have been writing like crazy, but I keep running into roadblocks. I started a few separate posts, but found that I may be overextending myself a little bit. I have been reading outside my comfort level again and studying some things that can be somewhat difficult to self-teach: formal logic, grammar, rhetoric, and philosophy. Every time I start a post, I read something new that completely blows what I am writing out of the water and shows me that my education on these subjects is lacking. But rest assured, I am working on it! I should have something meaningful posted in a few days.

Books currently open:

The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric

Nonsense: Red Herrings, Straw Men and Sacred Cows: How We Abuse Logic in Our Everyday Language

The Republic by Plato

The Bible

Links of Interest

2011-07-08T22:16:00.000-05:00

If You Love Peace, Become a Blue Republican (Just For A Year) by Robin Koerner at The Huffington Post

Jullian Assange And The New Wave at The Economist

I Go To a 4th of July Party by Bruce Krasting at Zero Hedge (Sounds like something I would do)

Washington's Never-Ending Scam of Fake Spending Cuts by Daniel J. Mitchell at Forbes

Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011 at C4L

Five Uncomfortable Facts About the Wonderful, Horrible Debt Limit Debate by Nick Gillespie at Reason

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Things Are Looking Up!

2011-07-06T10:43:00.000-05:00

I just found out that this blog made the Survival Times Top 100 Survival and Prepper Blogs!

I am ranked at number 58. Considering The Survival Podcast came in at number 10, I would say I am doing pretty good. Thanks to all the readers who made this happen. Looks like I am going to have to start cranking out some more Survivalism 101 posts.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Links of Interest

2011-07-05T23:21:00.000-05:00

Defending the Stereotype by Stephen Mauzy at The Mises Institute

The Purposeful Flooding of America's Heartland by Joe Herring at The American Thinker

Does That 1798 Act Make Obamacare Constitutional? by Rob Natelson at The Tenth Amendment Center

Dr. Joseph Salerno Explains Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Money (But Were Afraid To Ask) by Anthony Wile at Lew Rockwell dot com

Libertarian Psychology by Jeff Riggenbach at The Mises Institute

New York Woman Ticketed For Using Trash Can at CBS New York

The Anti-Crowd (A Rant)

2011-07-05T08:36:00.003-05:00

What happened to the anti-war movement? You don't see them on the news anymore. It must have something to do with that Nobel Peace Prize that Obama won. The anti-war candidate sure has shown his true colors with this whole Libya escapade. I guess bombing a country into peaceful submission qualifies as peace now. This leads me to believe that the main focus of the anti-war movement was really just an anti-Bush movement all along. Now we see that the majority of those anti-Bush protestors were really pro-war all along as well. Where is the dissent from the political left on Libya? I guess violence is okay for them as long as they get to pick the leader who initiates it.

The only difference I see between Libya and Iraq is that Obama actually admitted at the beginning that he was trying to depose an tyrannical dictator. Bush went with that whole WMD story and it didn't really work out too well. Those voters who believed that Obama was going to end war must be kicking themselves. Do you feel duped yet?

This provides some valuable insight into the near future. In either 2012 or 2016 we are going to have a new president. If that president is a Republican, the Tea Party is going to go the way of the dodo just like the Bush era anti-war movement. That is because deep down, the Tea Party is no longer a movement with any real philosophical roots other than establishment neo-conservatism. Presidential candidates Michelle Bachman, Herman Cain, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum all claim the Tea Party as their own; but they are all just neo-con republicans. The Tea Party is an anti-Obama / anti-government-run-healthcare lobby, and nothing more.

A republican president will also provide an outlet for the left to be opposed to something again. Then another media sanctioned anti-whatever crowd will spring up, only to wither away in four or eight years. The progressives may actually go back to being anti-war for a while. Americans have a short attention span.

My issue with all of this, is that libertarians are the people who formed the philosophical basis for these movements. Libertarians are, and always have been a peace movement. Libertarians started the "Tea Party" back in the 90s by protesting taxes, and then restructured it in 2007 with the Ron Paul campaign. The Tea Party concept has since been lost to ambiguity. Again, Americans have a short attention span.

To answer my opening question, "What happened to the anti-war movement?" I will say that it is still around. It is called libertarianism. We just dropped the progressive strap hangers when Obama got elected. In the same way, libertarians will still be supporting free markets long after the Tea Party is gone. Even if they manage to repeal government mandated health care, we will not have a free market. We are consistent through the political changes, and we are always vocal.

Libertarians consistently apply the non-agression principle to all areas of life, and then point out the specific instances where force is used. Once things get started and are moving along nicely, the "anti-crowd" decides to hop on the bandwagon and take over. They say that being a libertarian makes for politically strange bedfellows, but this ends up with libertarians getting passed back and forth between the neo-cons and the progressives. I don't know about you, but I feel used.

I read articles all the time on libertarian websites with titles like, "Should We Partner With the Left?" or "Can the Neo-Cons Help Us Win the Economic Battle?" My question is, do we really need them at all? We are philosophically consistent in our thinking and actions. Why do we let the "anti-crowd" pervert what we build?

On a side note: Stating that you are anti-anything can be extremely counterproductive. In the logical dimension of language, using a word like anti-war is perfectly understood. But in the psychological dimension, the prefix "anti" carries a negative connotation. The images and emotions associated with "anti" are all negative. A perfect example of how this is used is the abortion debate. People are either pro-life or pro-choice. Both sides have scrapped the anti prefix in favor of a pro prefix. This is somewhat propagandistic in nature because no one will ever state that they are anti-life or anti-choice.

So, to use some psudo-propagandistic language of my own: Libertarians are a pro-peace, pro-market, non-violent, rational, consistent movement. Argue with that!

Consistent philosophy will win in the end. Success in this competition of world views may require a multi-generational change, so let's cut the strap hangers now and get on with business. We don't need the support of the anti-crowd. They just use us for their own selfish ends anyway.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Links of Interest

2011-07-04T07:36:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since I have posted links, so some of these are somewhat old. They are worth checking out though.

Education
The Costs of Compulsory Education at Mises Daily

Economics
"Growing Your Way Out of Debt" is a Fantasy at Of Two Minds dot com
The Fed's "Brave New World" of Economic Policy at Mises Daily
Home Prices in 20 US Cities Fall By Most in 17 Months at Bloomberg

Survivalism
America Will Not Survive Without Alternative Markets at Alt-Market dot com

Religion
When Government Replaces God and Family at The Future of Freedom Foundation

Fun
The Probability Broach by L. Neil Smith Read the full graphic novel online at Big Head Press

Thank You

2011-06-30T23:28:00.000-05:00

To all of my readers, both old and new, I want to extend my most sincere and heartfelt thanks. Last month was a high water mark for this blog. I had more page views in June 2011 than I have had in any other month since this blog's inception. You will also notice that I have added a page view counter to the main page. We are approaching the 25,000 mark!

I will continue to provide quality content if you will continue to read. Lets make July an even bigger month than June. Spread the word!

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Quote of the Week

2011-06-30T04:42:00.001-05:00

"The utilitarian or servile arts enable one to be a servant - of another person, of the state, of a corporation, or of a business - and to earn a living. The liberal arts, in contrast, teach one how to live; they train the faculties and bring them to perfection; they enable a person to rise above his material environment to live an intellectual, a rational, and therefore a free life in gaining truth."

--Sister Miriam Joseph in The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric

Galt’s Gulch or Bust 2.0 Recocked, Reloaded, Redux

2011-06-15T14:58:00.006-05:00

How Eric Robert Morse Saved This Blog

It has been a few months since I have posted. When I wrote my last post, I washed my hands of this blog and was finished. Completely done. I viewed it as a thankless task instead of something I looked forward to and I just couldn't handle it anymore. Then something very strange happened.

I was clicking around on Facebook the other day, and I saw that a friend had posted a short animation on education reform and homeschooling. It piqued my interest, and I watched the video. Then, I started clicking around on this guy’s Facebook page, and found a link to a website promoting a book he had published. The book was Juggernaut by Eric Robert Morse. This seemingly small event had a massive impact on my life.

Now, before I proceed with the rest of this story about my blog, let me digress into a narrative to explain how Eric Robert Morse came to be a friend on Facebook. I met Eric when I was living in San Diego. Our paths diverged more than once because we ran in a some of the same circles.

Now, luckily for you, this story takes place back in my Marine Corps days. When men were men, and we two fisted Pabst Blue Ribbon all weekend long. To set the stage, I had been freebasing the G.W. Bush Neo-Con kool-aid and war fervor for the past few years, I had just come back from a war deployment, my best friend of four years had just got out of the Marines and moved back to Texas, I had turned down a job with a Force Recon unit to take a boring-as-hell instructor position teaching water survival at a swimming pool on base (a decision I regret to this day), and I had just married a woman I had known for only 6 months who hated my family. I was pretty much all over the map both mentally and emotionally.

For the remainder of this story, I will refer to the woman I was married to at that time as “the ex”. That relationship was doomed to failure from the start, and we divorced about five years ago. I am married now to my best friend and the love of my life and I couldn't be happier.

One of the things, actually one of the only things, the ex-wife and I had in common was politics. We were both uber-conservatives, and we thought a good way to meet new like minded people would be to get active in the local political scene. We found an official group of people our age and started attending meetings. The people I met at these events were pretty cool, and I usually had a good time. I attended everything from small meetings in local pizza joints, to dinners at 5 star restaurants with State Senators. For a fine young statist like myself, it was heaven.

But I quickly started to notice that I did not really fit in with the crowd. I enjoyed the political speeches and activism, but I was used to hanging out with Marines. These were the recent college graduates and young professionals. I was a knuckle dragging Jarhead. These folks were one wrong decision away from being Marine officers. They knew nothing of the enlisted Marine’s life. I was showered with thanks at every event for “serving our country” and “protecting our freedom;” but most of these people were from a different planet as far as I was concerned. We had nothing in common other than political affiliation.

Now, being an outsider is fine with me. I have been that way most of my life. But, couple feeling like an island unto myself with the personal and emotional issues I was dealing with at home and at work, and you end up with a recipe for disaster. You might be thinking, “If that were me, I would take the high ground. Try to connect with these people on another level.” But you would be wrong. Not this guy! I was a 24 year old war-hardened veteran. A steely eyed amphibious killer from the depths of hell. I had been around the world twice at this point. So, I did what most any young Marine grunt in my position would have done. I started power drinking and generally making an ass out of myself at these events. I was the Tucker Max of the young conservative crowd in San Diego County. But I digress…

In December, the ex and I found ourselves at a Christmas party in North County. I completed my typical routine of walking around and shaking hands with everyone, and then making a beeline for the food and alcohol table. Beer was sort of taboo at most of these events so I had to make due with an assortment of red and white wine. I was just starting to get loaded when I got another dirty look from the ex.

She had this face she would make to let me know that something I had said or done was “not acceptable public behavior.” It usually consisted of her eye brows creeping up dangerously close to her hair line, her eye balls protruding from her head an extra eighth of an inch, and her jaw dropping all the way open. I think the intention of this look was to show mock amazement at my actions, but in the reality of my world, it made her look like a grass carp with Down Syndrome. Not one to take a hint, I usually started laughing at this point and went to grab another drink. Again, I digress.

I had a few drinks in me, and I met a guy named Joe. We talked for a little while, and I learned that he had been involved with the group for a long time. I told him it was nice to meet him, and then I started making my rounds again to swoop by the wine table and refill my glass. The night was pretty uneventful, but remember Joe, he is central to this story.

A few months later, I found myself in the Gas Lamp area of downtown San Diego for some kind of social get-together. I think it was a magazine release party, but I can’t be sure. This was seven or eight years ago, and those days are kind of fuzzy in my mind anyway.

The Gas Lamp is the San Diego version of the typical downtown nightlife district that can be found in all major metropolitan areas. This event was being held in a place I would never walk into with my Marine buddies. We frequented places that had cold beer, loud music, dirty floors, and lots of sweaty women dancing. I am a country boy. I like simple things. None of that could be found in an establishment like this.

I am pretty sure the place had a dress code since I was wearing a suit, and when I walked through the door it looked like someone had vomited modern art all over the room. There wasn't one straight line in the whole damn place. Not on the walls, the tables, the chairs, the posts that held up the bar stools. Everything was curved. I am sure the building contractor make some good money putting this place together, and pulled his hair out trying to accomplish it. If Dr. Seuss had been an architect, this place would have been his crowning achievement. The lights were multicolored in yellow, red, blue, and green. It was supposed to add ambiance, but in reality it just made everything look brown.

This was the kind of place, when you walked into it, you couldn't really tell if it was a bar or one of those hipster jazz coffee house places. If Sex and the City had been filmed in San Diego, this bar is one of the locations they would have used for the shoot. It was frequented by businessmen from out of town who were looking to hook up for the night, 45 year old cougar-women in skimpy red dresses trying to hide the tan lines their wedding rings had made, and at that moment, fifty or sixty young Neo-cons.

For the record, I get real uncomfortable in places like this. Its not my scene. Its not my style. I get more enjoyment out of catching catfish on a creek bank. Why was the ex dragging me to places like this? She knew I wasn't comfortable. I felt the bile of contempt and disgust creeping up the back of my throat. I knew right away that it was going to be one of “those nights”.

Now, again you’re probably thinking, “If that were me, I would take the high ground.” But not this guy, damn it! I went straight to the bar, under evil glares from the ex, and proceeded to teach the hot bartender how to make a dirty martini. I think I had five of them in the first hour and I soon realized that I was out of cash. I don't use credit cards in bars. There is too much danger of having it stolen or having extra drinks added to my tab. I may have been a drunk in those days, but at least I was a smart drunk. So, having no money got me up off the bar stool in search of the ex. I told her I was headed up the street to the bank to get some more cash, and out the door I went.

I walked out into full sunshine. This event was supposed to start as a happy hour event and then run into early evening. I had a pretty good buzz going at this point already, and I had the vague recollection that there was a bank about 5 blocks up the street with an ATM. So I started walking up the sidewalk mumbling something to myself about wearing a stupid suit and tie to a stupid bar.

I am a notorious people watcher. I think its something I picked up in the Marines. When a normal person walks down the street, there might be a million things going through their head. When I walk down the street, I am assessing threats and sizing people up. Eyes and hands. Thats what I always look at. Eyes are the gateway to the soul and they can tell a lot about a person’s intent. Hands are threat indicators. They hold potential weapons. I keep my head up and look five or ten people deep into the oncoming throng. If I see someone with crazy eyes, I lock onto them and then start looking for their hands. People might call me paranoid, but this has saved my ass on more than one occasion in the third world and it is a habit I do not care to break.

So, with my head up and on a swivel I walked four of the five blocks to the ATM. Midway through block four, I see Joe (from the Christmas party) walking towards me. I quickly deduce that he is headed down to the bar, and I devise a little plot to mess with him. I come from a long line of pranksters. I remember hearing stories when I was a kid about the pranks my grandfather played on his friends when they went fishing and camping. My father inherited this gene, and taught me the basics of a good prank. When I entered adulthood, I had a very intricate understanding of how to really mess with someone; but the Marine Corps added a sick, twisted, sadistic side to my pranks. This usually gets me in more trouble than it is worth, but I get a kick out of it.

I have seen crazy eyes enough times in my life on other people, so I know how to put them on like a pair of glasses. This is how my prank on poor Joe went down: I made my best psycho face, walked up to him, got right in his face, and said, “Gimme all your money!”

Now, try to imagine what went through Joe’s mind at that moment. He is walking down the street, minding his own business, and a guy he may or may not vaguely remember rushes up to him wearing a business suit and attempts a stick up. And, what do you think Joe did at that moment? He did what anyone would do in that situation. He jumped, ran around me, and then looked back at me in abject horror as I doubled over laughing. I’m an asshole, what can I say?

When the laughing stopped, I went to the ATM and took out some money. Then I headed back to the bar. When I walked in the door, I could tell something was different. I saw a group of people gathered around someone telling a story. Joe was standing in this group, but he had magically changed clothes in the time between my prank and my return to the bar. My ex was there listening to the story too. I walked up to the crowd, and as I got closer, I noticed that there... were... two... Joes. One was standing on the outside of the circle listening to the story, and the other was standing in the center of the circle telling the story.

I was pretty sure I wasn’t hallucinating. I wasn't drunk yet. I was buzzed, but I was certainly not seeing double. How could this be?

When I got up to the circle, the Joe in the center pointed at me and said, “Him! Thats the guy that did it!” I was able to see his clothes now, and this was the Joe I had pulled the prank on. I started doing double takes looking from one Joe to the other. Then it hit me. THAT WASN’T JOE.

Further conversation would reveal that Joe had a twin brother named Eric. Eric Robert Morse. And Eric didn't know me from Adam. Naturally, I thought this was hilarious, and it took me a while to stop laughing and get the situation straightened out.

This went over like a fart in church with the ex. Remember earlier when I told you about the “grass carp look” that she used to give me? That went out the window. On this night, I saw a new look come across her face that I can only describe as a the look of a mule chewing on thistle. It was the look of utter disgust, tinged with a mild hatred that I am sure lasts to this day. I was ruining her social life right in front of her eyes, and without words, she was letting me know just how pissed she was.

I apologized to Eric and Joe for the mixup, and we all had a good laugh about it. Old mule face sat at an amoeba shaped booth for the rest of the night. Angry. Fuming. Plotting all the things she wanted to say when we got home. I knew what was going to happen later that night. It would either be the silent treatment and the spare bed for a week, or one of those “wake the neighbor” yelling matches that you are certain will get the cops called on you. Now, at this point you might be saying, “If that were me, I would take the high ground.” But you should know me by now. Not this guy! I went back to the bar with a pocket full of money and continued to drink dirty martinis with the hot bartender into the wee hours of the morning.

Lessons learned:
- Violent crime is not funny.
- Mock violent crime is not funny either.
- Marine humor is considerably different than the humor accepted by society at large.
- Some things are better left unsaid and undone, even if you think they are really funny.
- If you want to keep your wife, don't piss her off.
- If you don't want to keep your wife, drink as much as you possibly can and embarrass her in public.
- Twins confuse the hell out of people who have been drinking.
- Dirty martinis taste amazing.

So there you have it folks. That is the story of how I met Eric Robert Morse, and subsequently just one situation in a long list of disfunction that led to me ending up with an ex-wife. Cest la vie!

A few years later when I got my honorable discharge from the Marines, I moved back to my home town. It was during that first year at home that I discovered Facebook. For those of you with a Facebook page, you know what usually happens when you first sign up. You try to add every person you have ever met in your life. I found one or two people from the old San Diego crowd, and then continued clicking the “add as friend” button whenever a suggestion would pop up. That is pretty much how Eric came to be a Facebook friend. Like I said, we don't know each other that well. We ran in some of the same circles a few years back. I could go into a long diatribe about “friending” on Facebook, but it would be hypocritical. I am guilty of some of the things I abhor, so we will leave that topic for another day.

Now, back to the present. Where I am older, wiser, no longer fueled by massive quantities of alcohol, and have a much better understanding of the political and economic structure of America.

I found Eric’s webpage for his new book Juggernaut, and read through the thesis and compendium. “Wow,” I thought. “This is some really powerful stuff.” I can’t wait to read this book, it looks amazing. Knowing the author is a pretty cool thing for me too. I am not star struck, I just think its cool.

Then I clicked on the resources tab on the website, to see what kind of material he had cited for further reading, influences, etc. As I continued to scroll down, one entry popped off the page and hit me between the eyes like a shot from a gun. He had this blog cited for further reading!

Eric is a painter, writer, photographer, and web designer. You can view some of his work on his website The Weather Report. He identifies himself as a Classical Liberal which is a fairly close alignment to my philosophy. I might be a little more radical than he is, but I think radical is just a state of mind. Its not what you say, its how you say it.

For him to mention my blog on his website alongside some of my favorite websites like Mises.org and CafeHayek.com literally brought a tear to this Marine’s eye. The lack of feedback that led to my exit from the blogging world had just turned itself around. Someone had been reading it all along. I just never knew.

The spooky thing about all of this is that the domain name registration for this site was set to expire THE FOLLOWING DAY. If that isn’t God speaking to me, I don’t know what is.

I emailed Eric, told him this whole story, and he encouraged me to continue writing. He said, "I saw that you had called it quits, but thought the content there was worth linking to anyway." He has also encouraged me to try writing a book of my own. I mentioned that my website was a simplified version of some of the more complex sites I read. Reading publications from the Mises Institute can be like reading Greek if you don't have a basic understanding of Liberty and economics. He told me that writing a book with the theme of Libertarianism for the Common Man might be a good way for me to organize my thoughts, and possibly get a book published. I have been mulling over a couple of ideas for some other books too, so who knows, maybe this can work out. Its worth a shot!

So, in the words of the great philosopher Eminem, “I’m back, nana nana nana nana nana.” Welcome to Galt’s Gulch or Bust 2.0 Posts will be less frequent from here on out, but I want to bring you, the reader, quality not quantity. Keep checking back for more!

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Works by Eric Robert Morse

Juggernaut: Why the System Crushes the Only People Who Can Save It

The 90-Minute Effect: How We Shape Our Lives by the Hollywood Formula and Rarely Reach Our Own Happy Endings

Monaco

Love is Justice: An Exploration Into Mankind’s Fundamental Nature

Justice and Equality: A Dialogue on the Philosophies of Conservatism and Liberalism

Amazement: The Realization of Ideas and Dreams for a Sleeping Society

Works by Joseph SB Morse

Gods of Ruin

Surviving the Second Great Depression: How to Take Advantage of the Government That Is Trying to Take Advantage of You

Surviving Socialist America: How to Take Advantage of the Government That Is Trying to Take Advantage of You

Everyone Agrees: Book I: Words, Ideas, and a Universal Morality

How to Take Advantage of the People Who Are Trying to Take Advantage of You: 50 Ways to Capitalize on the System

The Evolution Diet: What and How We Were Designed to Eat

If you enjoyed this post, let the author know by leaving a comment below!

Farewell - It Has Been Fun (My last post on this blog)

2011-01-04T13:54:00.013-06:00

This will be my last post on this blog. As you can see, I have not posted much on here lately, and I want to put a final farewell up for future readers so they know where I stand. I would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of my readers who have stuck with me through this journey. You have had an influence on me in ways that you will never know.

For the record, this blog was initially hosted through Blogger on Google. It will remain there in its entirety as long as the internet is still up and running. For those of you who found me at GaltsGulchOrBust.com, this domain name will soon be out of service. Since I no longer post here, there is no point in paying for the domain name. If you wish to pass this website on to others and/or pass it along to friends, it will always be available at: www.sgtjarhead.blogspot.com Be sure to bookmark the previous for the future, as GaltsGulchOrBust.com will no longer bring you here soon. Now to the meat and potatoes...

The more things change, the more they stay the same. A new Congress will be sworn in tomorrow under the Republican leadership of John Boner. Yes, you read that right, I said Boner. Let me be clear...this will not change anything. The Republicans have pledged to cut 100 billion dollars out of a 3 trillion dollar budget.

Here is a pie chart of 100 billion and 3 trillion.

Politicians love doing this. 100 billion sounds like a huge amount. You see the number 100 compared to the number 3 and think that it must be a lot because the billion and trillion do not register in your mind. But in reality, it is a very small sum indeed. Republican voters will feel like "their guys are making a difference." But it is just business as usual. There will be a hard fight for this so-called huge budget cut, but I predict the Republicans will win in the end and get the cuts. They will be heralded as saviors of the fledgeling economy, and movements like the Tea Party will wither and die due to lack of true political and economic knowledge. Perhaps the movement will carry through to the Presidential elections, where the Republicans will run the woman who can see Russia from her house. If she wins, we will be in no better or worse shape than we are with Obama. Not a lick of this matters. Welcome back to the status quo ladies and gentlemen! Nothing has changed. Nothing will change. We are still headed for unprecedented debt and catastrophe. The only thing that may change is the wool being pulled back over your eyes for a little while longer. If you want to do yourself a huge favor, take a shotgun and blow a hole in your television right now.

It is for reasons like this, and many others that I am going to stop posting on this blog. The main reason is that all of my writing is not doing a bit of good. I do not have a wide fan base. Most of what I write on here is a simple passing on of information mixed with occasional original thought. There are many other bloggers who have a much better grasp on things than I do and are much better at breaking things down in a way that can be easily understood. Perhaps in my case it has been too much preaching to the choir. Or perhaps it has been too much preaching. Who knows? What I do know is, I rarely have comments on blog posts, and when I try to answer them for some lively debate, no one responds. I am a bit short on tact. In the end, I know this much: I am no wordsmith.

I would like to refer my readers to these two blogs.

Of Two Minds by Charles Hugh Smith

NeitherCorp Press

Between these two authors, you will find the truth of the way the world really works. I am not saying that both authors get it right 100 percent of the time, where one author is wrong, the other usually gets it right. I will let you decide which is which. Please stay away from Alex Jones and those like him. It will destroy your soul!

I guess, my heart is not in this anymore. When I started this journey, I attacked every bit of information with a vigor that I have lost somewhere along the way. I read books all the time, but now I find myself thinking, "Tell me something I don't already know." I try to avoid confirmation bias as much as possible by reading outside my comfort zone, but I think I have come to the end of the line as far as learning new concepts. I finally made my mind up. Perhaps that is a philosophical cop-out, but it had to happen at some point. Maybe, if more real information is brought to my attention, I will change my thinking in the future again. Back when I was a neo-con I was sure that it was the only true and right way to think. Now I know that I was wrong. Just because I have stopped posting does not mean that I will stop reading and thinking. Life is a set of never ending learning experiences stacked end to end.

The experience of political awakening is very much akin to the stages of grief experienced when a loved one dies. The stages of grief are known as the Kübler-Ross model and they are as follows: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. By looking at the volume of posts from month to month on this blog, you can actually track my progress on the model. Most of the high volume posting was anger, and I think I skipped depression altogether. Maybe not all the way, there have been times I have been really down about the state of things and wished more people cared or could see what is right in front of their faces. Oh well, I am at the acceptance phase now, and that is when a person can finally
move forward and start actually making progress in their future.

The short version of what I believe is as follows: I believe in Agorism otherwise known as Market Anarchism or Political Atheism. I believe that all of the problems we have as a society are either caused by or made worse by government. If government would leave people alone to live their own lives as they see fit, we would be in a much better place today.

Humans are a flawed race of beings. God's punishment for original sin in the garden was to make us ignorant. This is why we disagree with each other. If we were all able to get along, we would no longer need God. No form of government set up by man to govern man can work, because man is inherently flawed and sinful in nature. The only form of government that will ever work will be after the return of Jesus Christ. Man cannot govern man, because he was not made for that purpose. Only God can rule man, and he is not doing that right now because this is still an evil world.

God has given us a good groundwork on how to live and get along with each other. Here a few pertinent passages:

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

--Matthew 22:35-40

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. --Matthew 7:12

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. --Romans 12:2

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. --1 John 2:15-16

I believe that I have been transformed by the renewing of my mind. I see the true evil and ignorance of the world, because I no longer conform to its ways. I see a faith in government as a form of idolatry and one of the greatest evils there is. The Golden Rule, as stated above in Matthew 7:12 and Matthew 22 sums up everything you need to live a happy and fulfilling life. You should live your life like you want your kids to act. Don't hit people, don't take their things, don't tell people what to do. It really is that simple.

People do not like being told what to do. I have no interest in telling others what to do, because I don't like people doing that to me. I had enough "leadership" and "being a leader" when I was in the Marine Corps. Whether I tell you what to do directly, or vote someone else into "power" to tell you what to do makes no difference. It is still wrong.

Here is a great example of how to drive this point home to someone. If you are having a group conversation, pick one person and tell them to give you all the money in their wallet. They will naturally say no. Then say, "If you don't give me all the money in your wallet, I will beat you with a baseball bat and take it from you." They will say, "But thats wrong!" Then say, "OK, I am going to hold an election. If everyone in the room votes for me, I will take all the money in your wallet." It does not matter if everyone votes for you or not, in fact it will drive the point home even better if everyone votes against you. This shows everyone how petty elections are and that there is no true legitimate use of force.

Pick up any college Poli-Sci 101 textbook and look for the definition of government. It will give it as, the legitimate use of force. But you see, there is no legitimate use of force. What could possibly make any force legitimate? Nothing can. Forcing anyone to do anything against their will is a sin, therefore trying to legitimize force through government is also sinful.

I no longer conform to the ways of this world. My goal for the future is to starve the status quo. I plan to opt out of as many systems as I possibly can. I want to reduce my tax burden to the lowest possible number. I want to grow and harvest as much food as I possibly can on my own through small scale organic farming, permaculture, and raising of livestock. And in the end, a good day for me will be hard work outside and then relaxing in a rocking chair on my front porch with the Grateful Dead in my ears, a good book in one hand, and a cold home brewed beer in the other; watching my children play with the dogs in the yard. I know....... a man can dream can't he?

Fighting does no good. Armed revolution is doomed to failure. The only way forward is to start setting the example by living the life you want, not the life you are forced to live by those so-called-legitimate politicians. Yes, I will probably be viewed as that crazy old codger living outside of town, but I am okay with that. And when the poop hits the fan, I will be able to take care of myself and my family. When those around me see that I am making it without the current systems or a failing government, I will be making my biggest impact on this world. This is true leadership. Neither telling people how to live, nor voting for someone to tell people how to live; but by living a good life and setting the example for others to follow.

So, here we are at the end of this blog. I have not even finished my final series of posts on Survival +. It doesn't matter. I urge you to read it for yourself. There is nothing I can say that Charles Hugh Smith did not say better in the first place. I would also encourage you to read the other titles listed on my Reading List tab above. I wish you all the best. If you are new to this blog, I would encourage you to read through my past. My journey from neo-con to libertarian, and from libertarian to Christian agorist. Perhaps it will spark some interest for you and get you thinking in a new way. Time is running out. The status quo is unsustainable. We cannot continue on this path forever. I don't think we can continue on this path for another five years, but I pray I am wrong about that. As much as I want things to change, I do not want to see the suffering that will accompany that change. Opt out, say your prayers, take your vitamins, and I will see you as a part of the Remnant later on down the road.

God Bless!
See you at Galt's Gulch!

Book Review: Survival + (Part III)

2010-09-27T06:52:00.000-05:00

This post is part of a series. Click the links to read Part I and Part II.

Some other little tidbits from the book that have changed the way I view things are as follows:

Cui Bono – to whose benefit? Asking this question repeatedly, in all instances, at all times, is a simple and effective way to find out where the control lies. Are you in control of the situation, or is someone else? Who benefits from the action you are about to take? Have you thought it all the way through? For a further explanation of this concept, I am going to have to advise you to read the book and find out. It is an enlightening experience.

The Pareto Principle – commonly known as the 80-20 rule or the law of the vital few. It basically states that 80% of results come from 20% of the causes. The 80-20 rule does not hold true for all situations all the time, but it is a general rule of thumb that is observable in the natural order of things. In America we can use it to show how 20% of the population controls 80% of the wealth. The reverse of this is obvious. 80% of the populace controls the other 20% of the wealth. This can be broken down even further. If 80% of results come from 20% of the causes, then 80% of that top 80% of effects comes from 20% of that top 20% of causes. From here we get other ratios that hold true if the starting parameters are chosen correctly. 80% of 80% is 64%; 20% of 20% is 4%, so a 64-4 law and a 51.2-0.8 law should also be observable. Looking at the breakdown of wealth distribution, you will find that all of these laws are observable fact.

Wealth distribution and the money-influence abuse cycle aside, we can use this as a law of positive change. While the elite use money to buy influence, we can have an influence in other ways. My entire life, as a Boy Scout when I was young, as a Marine when I got older, I was always taught to lead by example. If the Pareto Principle holds true, then just 0.8% of the populace doing the right thing can influence 51.2% of the rest. Leading by example, and doing the right thing can have a profound impact on the rest of the world.

The generational cycle of history – every 80 years, we face a turning point. Most humans only trust what they can experience directly or what we have heard from our parents or grandparents. The result of this is that the lessons of our great grandparents are lost on our current generation. Oral tradition is more reliable here because history is written by the winners, and at this point in time, the Plutocracy is winning. If you look back throughout our nation’s short history, you can see this generational cycle at work. The American Revolution 1781, add 80 years and you get the Civil War in 1861. Add another 80 years and you get WWII, 1941. If this pattern holds true, we should be looking at another major political, economic, and social shift around the year 2021.

What follows is my own interpretation and elaboration on the generational theory put forth in Survival +. The problem with the 2021 timestamp is, in recent years we have moved away from respect for the elderly. Where cultures throughout history have revered their elders, we as a society now look to ship them off to the prison of a nursing home at the first possible moment so we can take their belongings and move on with our own petty lives. Because of this, the 80 year waves that have worked throughout our nation’s history will begin to shorten. The 2021 figure quoted above is not correct. I believe we are in the first year or two of this major shift right now, and if history and current events have shown us anything, it is that major crisis is a perfect time to make major alterations in society. “Never let a crisis go to waste.”

Sure, there have been other times in recent history where major alterations or shifts in society have happened, 1913 to name just one. But I see those as primers for an even greater shift in the near future. 1913, the Woodrow Wilson presidency, WWI, was a primer for the policies of the FDR presidency, and WWII. To go even further with this, much of the financial woes we are having today are due to the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act. 1913 was the year the Federal Reserve was formed, and 80 years later Bill Clinton took office in 1993. This act was repealed in 1999 by a Republican Congress and at the very end of the Clinton presidency. Sure, that is a six year stretch, but it comes close. If the generational cycle theory holds true, we may have overlapping 80 year cycles that work in concert against us. If you would like to learn more about the 80 year generational cycle, The Fourth Turning, by William Strauss and Neil Howe is a book on this exact topic.

Check back soon for Part IV

Book Review: Survival + (Part II)

2010-09-21T09:00:00.001-05:00

This post is part of a series. Please read Part I first by clicking here.

The illusion of freedom is one tool the plutocracy uses to stay in control. Class warfare and willful obfuscation of the truth are others. The media propaganda machine keeps those of low income angry and feeling unjustly treated. They blame the rich, but they have no way to gauge what rich is. Since the plutocrats need the productive middle class to leach off of, they shift the blame from themselves onto the middle class. Now they have an angry power base in the poor, who will vote to keep their technocrat/bureaucrat underlings in power. They also use this as justification to enact new taxes and restrictions on the middle class, who they have fingered as being rich. The poor are placated until the next voting cycle, and the power elite get to skim even greater profits off the backs of the productive middle class.

Example: Obama campaigned on a promise that those making less than $250k per year would not see any raise in taxes. This sets a price in the public mind to define rich.

Now $250,001 per year is the public perception of rich. But is this really rich? No! This is the productive middle class. That is a small business owner who works his butt of putting in 12 hour days 6 days a week. Compared to the super rich Plutocracy, 250k is just a grain of sand on a beach. To understand this, one must look at the inflation of our fiat currency via massive borrowing and bailouts, most of which goes into the pockets of the Plutocracy. We are robbing Peter to pay Paul. To top that off; Peter, Paul, and the Plutocrats (that would make a great band name by the way) count debt as an asset. All fiat money is debt! This is also where the derivatives market comes into play. No one knows exactly how much funny money is being circulated on books, but a conservative estimate is over One Quadrillion dollars. Let’s look at One Quadrillion: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. That is larger than the Gross Domestic Product of the entire planet! Given that the top 3-4% of individuals control about 2/3 of the world’s capital, you can see how small a sum 250k is. What is 2/3 of a quadrillion anyway? This is just one example of willful obfuscation and complexity. No wonder it is so easy for them to stay in power!

Due to this complexity, it is essential to understand that no amount of minor tweaks or “fixes” from within the system will reform anything. It can’t work. It is too complex, and the control already lies in the hands of those who do not have our best interest in mind. Tax cuts, tax raises, policy reforms, etc. do absolutely nothing. The elite will always find a way around a policy (if they did not suggest its enactment in the first place) and will always find a way to exploit a raise or cut in taxation. The entire system is headed for collapse; that is a fact. Your acceptance of this fact will mean the difference between having a successful prosperous future, and falling flat on your face when the rug is pulled out from underneath you. The truth does not depend on your acceptance for it to remain true. Collapse will happen, probably sooner than we all wish.

Nothing Has Changed
Why Nothing Changes

This collapse will happen in one of two ways. Either the state will attempt to print its way out of recession or depression (hyperinflation), or it will run out of the ability to borrow any more money to pay for its leviathan structure and will default on its debts and obligations. This means either the economic structure will collapse dragging the state down with it, or the state will default on its obligations to entitlements bringing the economy crashing down. Much lip service has been paid on survival and libertarian blogs and forums over which way this will happen. The way it happens is of no consequence, the end result will be the same. We are headed for turmoil and catastrophe.

The case for Hyper-inflation
The case against Hyper-inflation
Full Spectrum Collapse

**Please read all links provided in this article to help you form a more integrated understanding of the topics covered.

Read Part III

Book Review: Survival + (PART I)

2010-09-20T08:06:00.004-05:00

aka Samadhi
aka The Longest Post I Have Ever Written

Survival + by Charles Hugh Smith is not your typical Mel Tappen or J.W. Rawles manual for surviving the end of the world as we know it. Those views have their place in survival planning, but they focus on stocking up and then hunkering down. Survival + is a fresh new look at the way the world really works, the problems we face as a society, and a practical plan of action for how to move forward in our bleak future. Smith combines the disciplines of politics, economics, history, psychology, sociology, and ecology to form what he calls and integrated understanding of our world.

Someone trapped in one of the standard status quo, left-right paradigm, ideological boxes: Progressives or Conservatives, may have a very hard time comprehending and accepting the philosophy laid out in this book. Someone who already comes from a survivalist school of thought or a libertarian political philosophy may have a much easier time with it. I foresee one of two possibilities happening should a staunch conservative or hard line progressive read this book. Either their mind will recoil in horror and the reader will stop reading, or they will read it all the way through and discount it as lunacy.

The book goes much further than mere libertarian thought. Where the libertarian has already transcended the typical left-right paradigm, the author shows how even libertarianism is too narrow in scope. The real problems we face in this world are apolitical, and there is the possibility and high probability that even the libertarian model can be corrupted for exploitation and personal gain. The United States’ political and economic structure from the time of the founding fathers to the present is a perfect example. Put simply, libertarianism is just another utopian pipedream, along with every other ism out there.

Survival + takes in all of these apolitical problems, analyses them, and formulates a plan of action that comes from outside the realm of conventional thought. Charles Hugh Smith is the John Locke or Karl Marx of our time.

The book is so rich in concept that a synopsis cannot be written here. I can cover some of the major points that I took away from it though. Before anything about the book can be perceived, you must have an understanding the complex forces that control this world. Smith identifies those in charge of this complex structure as the Plutocracy (rentier-financial Power Elite). A simple analysis of that statement is enough to make a conservative cringe, and a progressive smile; but it goes much deeper than that. Smith argues that the wealthy have a disproportionate influence on the state. So where a progressive puts his faith in the all powerful Savior State to stop the overreach of the wealthy, and a conservative puts his faith in the wealthy to stop an overreaching government; Smith argues that both the wealthy and the government are one in the same. This idea was first brought to my attention by Aldous Huxley in Brave New World Revisited, but Smith takes it to a whole new level. In essence, both the progressives and the conservatives are half right, and half wrong, and this serves the ends of the Plutocracy perfectly. A house divided against itself cannot stand.

It is the tribal nature of humans to self-organize into groups that are beneficial to themselves. The ultra rich are no different. This is the basis for many conspiracy theories that are floating around out there today. Smith identifies this conspiracy by the rich to gain control as a factual process, but he is careful to not delve into Alex Jones tin-foil-hat land. If you are looking for information on black cloaked men in candle lit halls drinking blood from the skull of Leonardo Davinci, this is not the book for you. That type of formal conspiracy may sell books and be great for TV and radio shows, but it is fiction. Smith identifies this as more of an informal conspiracy born of a collective self interest. Control makes more money; more money buys more control, and so on.

The Alex Jones types want you to think that these people hate you, hate your family, and are hell bent on controlling every aspect of your life because of that hatred. This simply is not true. Yes, they are hell bent on control, but only because it makes them more money. In fact, it serves their interests to have Alex Jones out there ranting and raving every day. Once any commentator goes down that path, he is easy to marginalize and dismiss as a nut-case. That is why I have been very careful to not use Alex or those like him as references on this blog. They are right about 75% of the time on the issues, but the basis of their argument is flawed. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it; and Alex comes off like a new age moon bat.

Anyway, this control for the sake of money, money for the sake of control process is carried out in many different ways. Propaganda, simulacra, facsimile, and the sheer complexity of the system are just a few means to the money-control end. I will not even try to relate the complexity of the system that is spelled out in this book. This is one of those things you are going to have to read and find out for yourself. In the mainstream press, we only get little bits and pieces of the story, here and there, and this keeps us all confused. This is why there are only two “competing” worldviews of major prominence in our system. The Plutocracy can survive in a progressive or a conservative world, so a vote for either side is a vote for the power elite. A confused populace is incapable of mounting any kind of real reform.

The two “competing” worldviews concept is clarified even more when looking at the extremes. Austrian school free market capitalism should, in theory, be the most effective system there is. Free markets govern themselves. But if that theory holds true, then why have we devolved in America to the Neo-Liberal crony form of capitalism we have today? Sure, it worked for a long time, but slowly the power elite crept in and corrupted it. So, can free markets really regulate themselves? Sure, as long as you base the entire model on an honest responsible populace that will not try to pervert the system to its own selfish ends. All it takes is a few bad apples, and the whole bunch is ruined. Sadly, this is human nature. We always try to take advantage of others. We cannot help it.

In addition to that, Capitalism is like a shark, it has to constantly keep moving forward or it will die. By that I mean, the current capitalist system has to continue growing every day or it will collapse. In a world of finite resources, you can see how this presents a problem. All of the wealth and ease of life we have seen in America since the Industrial Revolution has been due to an abundance of cheap fossil fuels. I believe peak oil is very near. It may be in the near future, or the near past, but we are somewhere close to that precipice. Once the price of oil skyrockets, and it will very soon, the entire basis of our Neo-liberal capitalist structure will come crashing down. The oil business is one industry that cannot be propped up by an influx of fiat capital. Once the demand outweighs the supply, the shark of our economy will stop moving and die.

I am about to blow your mind in this next sentence, so please stay with me to the end. The greatest critique of capitalism came from Karl Marx, and if what we are seeing today is any guide, his critique was correct. I would argue that we have the epitome of a bourgeoisie in our plutocratic power elite right now.

Now, modern Marxists will take that last statement and say, “See, Marx was right! He predicted all of this! Capitalism does not work!” They will then immediately throw their support behind Marx’s fixes and buy into the socialist model. But models of socialism and communism have been tried and have failed miserably, time after time! Marx may have seen the problems inherent to capitalism, but he was an utter failure when it came to designing an alternative working model. Every time the proletariat has taken control, the only thing that changes is a shift in power. They throw the old bourgeois out, usually killing them in the process, and then set themselves up in government halls and become the new bourgeois class. A power vacuum is created, and then filled. This is human nature. Power once gained is near impossible to give up.

So neither the capitalist nor the Marxist system can work in the long run. Neither one takes into account the corrupt nature of human kind. Where the capitalist system allows financial interests to take control of the government, the Marxist system allows the government to take control of financial interests. In the end, they both end up the same. At least with Capitalism, this process of amalgamation is prolonged. Marxism and all of its derivatives are a fast track to Plutocracy. They are the long road and the short road to oligarchy/plutocracy. Under our current neo-Liberal crony capitalist system, all we have is the illusion of freedom. Smith states in Survival + that, “The human mind’s power comes from understanding models and then applying them to new situations.” What is needed is a new model that comes from outside the existing framework of past knowledge. Sadly, I am not the man to dream this up, but Smith is on the right track.

PART II

Permaculture Tidbit of the Day (Water)

2010-08-21T09:30:00.000-05:00

97% of the Earth's water is salt water.
3% of the Earth's water is fresh water
.03% of the Earth's water is usable fresh water
The other 2.97% of fresh water is in the form of clouds and glaciers

As you can see, water is a precious resource indeed.

For every 1 inch of rainfall, for every 1000 square feet of footprint of a building, you have the potential of capturing 600 gallons of usable water from your roof.

The footprint of my house is roughly 1330 square feet. My garage is roughly 625 square feet. The sum of both is 1955 give or take. I feel comfortable rounding that up to 2000. So every time it sprinkles (1 inch of Spring or Summer rain in Illinois is a sprinkle) I have the potential of catching 1200 gallons of usable water for my garden.

Every gallon of water you harvest in a catchment system is a gallon you do not have to pay for. Every gallon of water you harvest in a catchment system is a gallon that will not go wasted into a storm drain.

The survival aspect of this should be evident. In times of drought, a scarce resource like water is even more scarce. If you have water collected in tanks from the spring rains, your garden will thrive throughout a drought ridden summer. To take this one step further, in times of extreme crisis your city water may be shut of completely. Your survival preps should call for storing fresh drinking water independent of a rain catchment system. Having extra water saved in a tank that can be used to bathe, will go a long way in the quality of life department for everyone in you household.

Give these numbers a try for your property. Try to estimate how much water your garden needs in one months time. Put it all together, and you will find that a water catchment system is in your best interests.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Fleeting Thoughts

2010-08-21T05:50:00.000-05:00

When you add the letter A to a word, it changes the root word's meaning to its direct opposite.

So theism is a belief in God, and atheism is a belief in no God.

Muse
– verb (used without object)

to think or meditate in silence, as on some subject.
–verb (used with object)

to meditate on.
to comment thoughtfully or ruminate upon.

What then can we deduce the definition of amuse would be? To not think, to comment without thought.
It is scary that America has entire parks, called Amusement Parks dedicated to not thinking. We consider television a form of amusement. Again, not thinking. We even read books for amusement. If you say you read a lot, and then list Tom Clancy or V. C. Andrews as a favorite author, you are telling me you read to "not think."

What do you do for amusement? How much time in your day do you dedicate to amusement? Is amusement healthy?

Quote of the Week

2010-08-20T09:52:00.000-05:00

"The National parties and their presidential candidates, with the Eastern Establishment assiduously fostering the process behind the scenes, moved closer together and nearly met in the center with almost identical candidates and platforms, although the process was concealed as much as possible, by the revival of obsolescent or meaningless war cries and slogans (often going back to the Civil War). … The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to the doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can “throw the rascals out” at any election without leading to any profound or extreme shifts in policy. … Either party in office becomes in time corrupt, tired, unenterprising, and vigorless. Then it should be possible to replace it, every four years if necessary, by the other party, which will be none of these things but will still pursue, with new vigor, approximately the same basic policies."

- Carroll Quigley, Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time (New York: Macmillan, 1966), pp. 1247-1248.]

Coming Soon to an Economy Near You!!!

2010-08-18T06:16:00.000-05:00

Quote of the Week

2010-08-17T11:24:00.000-05:00

"The system only exists because of your participation in it."

Eric Andrews at Of Two Minds dot com

Updates Shmupdates

2010-08-17T07:25:00.000-05:00

I have been writing like crazy, but I have absolutely nothing worthy of posting just yet. Most of the material I have is just long strings of logic and thought, but nothing that falls into the realm of intelligible work. I have gone through another one of those massive shifts in worldview, and this has prompted a wellspring of new material. I just need to go through the daunting task of connecting all the dots and tying it all together before I can post any of it. I think this may be the basis for a book. I have a few friends who have urged me to start work on a book, but the sheer time involved for such a massive undertaking is staggering. Any thoughts?

Additionally, my current job is starting to become unfulfilling. I have been at it for a while, and I am in the mood for a change of scenery. I tend to get bored and restless when I do the same thing for too long. A friend has expressed interest in the possibility of starting a landscape design business based on the permaculture model. I am just getting started on Bill Mollison's Permaculture: A Designers Manual, and I think I could excel in the field. The work would be more fulfilling than my current job, and I feel I would be doing more to help others. I am looking into courses at the Midwest Permaculture Institute, and I have downloaded an entire lecture series on iTunes U on the topic. I love change, but with any great change comes great risk. Guess I have to get through the due diligence phase before I can make a move to something new. Any thoughts?

See you at Galt's Gulch!

iPhone Saves the Day

2010-08-15T07:40:00.001-05:00

I travel pretty regularly for my job. Last week I was having a particularly bad day at the airport and ended up in a really foul mood. This tends to happen every time I fly because as much as I love travel, I hate flying. It’s not so much that I hate to fly or have a fear of flying. I used to jump out of helicopters for crying out loud. I hate the mass of people from all over the country coughing and sneezing, and bringing their sickness with them. I hate the Orwellian approach to “security” at the airport. The same message has been playing nonstop in every airport in America for close to 10 years. “Due to increased security concerns, loading and unloading is authorized…” Like a frog boiling slowly, we have all become accustomed to a bad situation. I hate being treated like a kindergartener. Couple all of this with being newly married and having to leave my beautiful new wife at home, and you end up with a recipe for disaster. So, with all this in my head, I hopped on my next flight, sat down in my business class seat, and settled into the normal routine of waiting for the other passengers to board, playing with my seatbelt, pretending to read the card in the seatback in front of me, and so on.

A younger kid, maybe 22 or 23 came and sat down next to me, and I informed him that I would gladly move to another seat so we could both have more room if there were two seats next to each other that remained open after everyone was onboard. I did this as he was putting his carry-on in the overhead bin. So, to add to an already bad day, what response do I get? Nothing. Silence. Not even a look of recognition. As you can imagine, my mood turned even more sour.

Now, I have been told by a few people close to me that I give off the persona of being Billy Badass. I don’t see it, but I have spent most of my adult life in a grunt style military structure, where being easy to deal with is sometimes seen as a sign of weakness. I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt until they burn me, but once you burn me, Lord have mercy!

Even though I was mad, something told me that this guy needed a second chance. He was staring out the window at this point in time, watching the baggage throwers load our luggage onto the plane. I repeated my previous statement, trying to stay as pleasant as the situation would allow. Again, absolutely nothing. Not a response, not a turn around and stare, nothing. What the hell had I ever done to this guy?

I decided to leave it alone since making a scene on an airplane is a surefire way to delay your travel plans for a day and get the old body cavity search from one of the power tripping high school dropouts in TSA. The stewardess came by to take drink orders and I asked for a glass of water. The guy next to me turned from the window suddenly, looked at the flight attendant, and pointed to his mouth and ears in a fast manner indicating that he was deaf.

Guess who the asshole is now!

My time in the Marines put me in many different cultures all around the world, and one of the skills I picked up was a rudimentary understanding of how to communicate with my hands due to language barriers. Sitting next to me was a guy who spoke fluently with his hands because it was his first and only language. My anger suddenly disappeared.

I felt really bad about being upset with this guy. I had inadvertently transferred my anger from my whole crumby day onto him and I really wanted to make amends, even though he had no idea what was going on. I racked my brain trying to come up with a way to communicate. I was traveling light and didn’t have a pen or paper in my carry-on, so I pulled out my iPhone and opened a new note. Typing out a quick introduction, I handed the iPhone to him. He smiled, turned, shook my hand and hammered out an extremely fast response. His name was Ben and he had just come back from New Zealand on a summer college program in deaf studies. He went to help teach sign language to children and people who had recently lost their hearing. We passed the phone back and forth for a few minutes, and I told him that I would let him get some rest since he had just come off of an international flight. So, he put a travel mask over his eyes, covered up with a blanket, and started napping.

Another 20 minutes went by and I started to get the understanding that something was wrong. Finally the pilot came over the intercom and announced that there was a fuel spill somewhere behind us and that a crew was trying to clean it up so we could leave. Another 20 minutes. As it turns out, we had been lied to. It was our engine that was leaking fuel all over the runway and in addition to the cleanup crew; mechanics were "working tirelessly", trying to fix our engine so that we could leave.

Another 30 minutes. I started to notice the flight attendants placing out of order signs on all of the lavatory doors. Ben was sawing logs at this point, so I typed a message on my iPhone and woke him up so that he would know what was going on. Another 30 minutes. The flight attendant finally made an announcement that people with connecting flights after this one would be able to deplane, and make other arrangements to get to their final destination. I listened and typed so that Ben was in the loop and he ended up getting off the plane so he could make it home.

Fast forward about two and a half hours. The rest of us were finally let off the flight and told that another plane was waiting in a different terminal. We all walked across the airport and found that the plane we were promised “had not arrived yet.” To make a long story short, I spent close to 14 hours in three airports to make a very short trip. It was, by far, one of the worst travel days I have experienced in a long time. But unlike most of my other airport experiences, I remained calm and humble.

As pissed off and angry as people get sometimes, most don’t stop to realize the important things in life. I was proof of that! Ben had been living with a disability his entire life. His entire world experience was totally different than mine. After sight, hearing is our next most important sense. He made due with his circumstances, and I am sure got along just fine with a little help, from time to time, from people willing to lend a hand. I am glad I could be the better man that day. Had I got up and moved to another seat in anger, or even went to the restroom at the wrong time, Ben may have been stuck in that airport with me all day.

I think it’s time to say goodbye to Billy Badass. I may very well carry a chip on my shoulder and not even notice it is there. In the survival community, much lip service is paid to bartering skills and the like. This entire experience made me realize that our dealings with other people might be our most important survival strategy. If you are the angry old coot living out on the edge of town sitting on top of a basement of canned beans, content in your own misery, it may well be the death of you in the end. Values, compassion, family, and community are the only things that will hold society together when SHTF. Without them, we will devolve into a feudal society where the strong overpower the weak and take what they have. I had a bit of a wakeup call with this experience. Where do you stand?

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Awesome Salad Recipe

2010-08-04T14:18:00.000-05:00

Wifey just made a great salad for lunch, and I thought I would pass on the recipe.

Romaine lettuce
Spinach
Green Onions or Chives
Prosciutto
Chicken Breast
Mushrooms
Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese
Croutons

Mix portions of Romaine lettuce, spinach, and green onions in a large salad bowl. Grill chicken breast and set to the side to cool. Cut breast into bite sized chunks. Cook mushrooms and prosciutto together in a pan. Pour mushrooms, prosciutto, and juice from pan onto salad. The heat from this will wilt the lettuce and spinach just a little bit. Top with cheese, croutons, and chicken breast. Enjoy!

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Hitched (Update)

2010-08-02T11:06:00.000-05:00

To all of my readers, I would like to offer my most sincere apology. I have not posted on here for a long while.

I will be getting married soon and the planning process has consumed ALL of my free time. I had to start making cuts in the things that I enjoy, and the blog was one of the things that fell on that list. My garden has gone out of control as well.

So, I suppose, once I get through this major event in my life, I will be back to regular posting. I hope you will stay with me, check back often, and forgive my extended absence from the blogosphere.

See you at Galt's Gulch, with my wife...

Quote of the Week

2010-06-24T14:28:00.000-05:00

There's a race of men that don't fit in, A race that can't stay still; So they break the hearts of kith and kin, And they roam the world at will. They range the field and they rove the flood, And they climb the mountain's crest; Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood, And they don't know how to rest.

- Robert Service

Links of Interest

2010-06-22T14:40:00.000-05:00

Free Yourself from Legal Tyranny by Howard Freeman at Supreme Law Library I really want to get everyone's take on this article. I ran across it online after a conversation with a good friend about what the Signature Line on a check says. Look at it with a magnifying glass people, it is not a line. Anyway, are there any legal minds out there who want to take a crack at this and let me know if its legit or just tin foil hat crap? In addition to the link above, check the next one as well for further reading.

COMMERCIAL LAW AND THE UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE (UCC)

Bluff City, TN Speed Camera Information This interesting little site used to be owned by the Bluff City, TN Police Dept. An angry citizen who had received a ticket from a traffic camera ended up buying the domain name when he noticed that the police department had let it lapse. From there it blossomed into a general info site about traffic cameras. Way to stick it to the man!

What's Really Wrong with the Healthcare Industry by Vijay Boyapati at Lew Rockwell Dot Com

Gold Reclaims Its Currency Status as the Global System Unravels by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard at Lew Rockwell Dot Com

In Its Heterodox Media Star, an Identity Crisis for Libertarian Party Colleagues Charge Root Is 'Still a Republican' by ALEXANDER ZAITCHIK at The Washington Independent Dot Com I have been saying this for a while. I read Root's book, and I have quoted him on this blog before; but Root represents the Glenn Beck style 'libertarian light' that I have come to despise in the Tea Party movement. Two years ago I put out a call to action for libertarian candidates to make a Ron Paul shift and infiltrate the Republican Party. It seems that this call fell on deaf ears with libertarians, but was eagerly picked up in reverse among the neo-cons. Is there any hope for us left in this world?

Rahm Emanuel expected to quit White House by Alex Spillius at The UK Telegraph

Hooray For Hollywood by Tom Mullen at Tom Mullen's Blog

Against School by John Taylor Gatto at Spinning Globe Dot Net

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Texts From Last Night

2010-06-22T10:59:00.000-05:00

(954):

tuesday night obama will do an address about the oil spill at 8... it'll only be about 15 minutes... but i think thats plenty of time for a drinking game. key words "oil" "bp" and "responsibility"?

(1-954):

F#*k yes. Let's make bingo cards.

See you at Galt's Gulch

My Garden Part 2

2010-05-27T20:40:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally got some pics taken of the garden as it is now. There were just taken today, so you get a fresh look at how much this garden has grown in just one month. We had one late frost, and I had to cover everything up with tarps to keep the frost off. Other than that, its been either raining cats and dogs, or hotter than hell. Perfect for what I have growing.

I am still trying to figure out how to format blog posts on this Mac, so instead of getting fancy like I did on the last garden post, I am just going to put the pics up and leave it at that.

Enjoy...

Full view of entire garden

Strawberry patch

Two Tomato plants and some Cabbage

Broccoli, two more Tomato plants, and Pole Beans in the Back. Notice how they are trellising already. If you look close you can see string tied to the dowel rods. I have the string hung off my gutter supports, so the plans can continue to trellis as high as they want to go.

Cauliflower, Green pepper plant, Yellow pepper plant

Two more Tomato plants

These 'maters are from the back plant on the picture above. That middle one is almost softball size, and its turning yellow already. Should be ready to eat in about a week and a half!

My only mistake. I tried doing three sisters with: sweet corn, beans, zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant. I didn't take into account how big the squash varieties would get and how quickly they would grow. Some of my corn popped up, but some of it got shaded out. The beans took a long time to germinate, so I'm not sure if I will even get any this year. All in all, the area is over planted, but I'm sure it will yield something for me. I have 4 long rows of corn and beans in a family co-op garden close by, so its no big deal. Anyone want some squash?

My planter pots in the cinder blocks are doing great. Below is a chili pepper. These things just exploded! I cant believe how big they are already, and the plants keep putting on more blossoms and peppers. Just waiting for some more hot weather to turn these guys red, and they will be ready to pick.

Even though I have a good amount of garden space this year, I am still growing some crops in containers. This is my potato container. I put spuds in about three inches of topsoil and manure. As the plant grows, I continue to cover it. I have been layering it as I go. One layer of straw, let it grow. One layer of manure, let it grow. One layer of straw, let it grow. One layer of topsoil, let it grow.

This method filled my container up pretty quick, so I used some sheet metal and made some more room to grow. I have heard of people using old car tires in a similar method. Just keep stacking them and filling them as the plant grows.

Looking down into the sheet metal, you can see that I placed some long bolts facing inward. If I need more room soon, I plan on making another section of the sheet metal to fit inside the first one. It should rest perfect on the bolts. A little duct tape on the outside, and a rope to hold it to the porch will be a must at that point as well.

Quote of the Week

2010-05-27T19:53:00.000-05:00

'In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language.. And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.'

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Quote of the Week

2010-05-19T02:18:00.000-05:00

"Our children...should enter adulthood with a basic knowledge of how to store food over winter without the cooperation of a nuclear power plant a hundred miles away. Every animal in the forest is taught this skill; we owe our children no less."

--Jerry Minnich

My Garden Part 1

2010-05-17T22:52:00.000-05:00

In a previous post called Prepping to Prep I showed some of the planning and legwork I did over the winter to get ready to put my garden in this spring. Spring is here, and the plans have changed a little bit, but I have some pictures to put up to show you how it all worked out. Let me know what you think of the landscaping.

All of these pics are about a month old, so in a few days I will put up some new pics and show you how the plants are doing.

Staking Out The Area

Cutting The Sod

The mulched area under the tarp where the shadow of my head is at, is the spot where the old tree used to be. I had that removed and the stump ground out, but the root structure was still intact. I got a lot of use out of that axe leaning on the fence.

All Sod Removed, and Laying the First Blocks
Once I got all the sod out and set aside, I dug down a little on the edges to set the cinder blocks. It is important to keep all blocks as level and straight as possible from the start. If you are crooked at one end, everything will start to look walleyed when you get to the other.

Laying More Blocks

As they go in, you have to push, nudge, kick, and jump on them to get them just right. The extra time is worth it. Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.

The Finished Product Minus Some Fill Dirt

I decided to place some dividers in, so I could cordon off certain areas of the bed. The square closest to the camera is my strawberry patch, the center area is general planting, and the far square is for my three sisters (corn, beans, and squash.) Also, in this photo, you can see where I started adding compost. I hit the near and far squares first, and then started adding to the center.

After the beds were in place, I broke up the soil with a spade and added my compost from last year. Some of the sod was chopped up and turned into the loose soil and some was placed on a low spot next to my house to help with drainage. On top of the compost I added a layer of manure, then a layer of potting soil, and then a layer of topsoil. The potting soil was a little expensive, but I wanted to make sure that everything remained loose so the roots would be able to grow with ease.

I quit taking pictures after I started on the compost, but stay tuned for pics of my garden today. Every hole in a cinder block has a plant in it, and my garden has literally exploded with life. Everyone that sees it is jealous. They have been dumping chemical fertilizers on theirs for years, and wonder why their soil has no nutrients in it. This is all done the way the Good Lord intended, and it has been working out great.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

I am back

2010-05-17T18:01:00.000-05:00

Well, its been a long road, but I now have a new computer. I want to apologize to my readers for not getting this all back up and running sooner. I am the new owner of a MacBook Pro, so I am still on the learning curve switching over from a PC.

I have been busy with my preps, and will be posting updates regularly to give you all some of the new info I have learned.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Update

2010-03-23T21:07:00.002-05:00

I wanted to let everyone know that my computer is broken. I dropped it the other day and the screen is busted, so posts will be few and far between until I can get it repaired or get a new one.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Live Free or Die!

2010-03-21T03:26:00.000-05:00

US Can Detain Anyone It Sees Fit, For Life

2010-03-16T00:59:00.000-05:00

Mark Crispin Miller: 'Mainstream Media in the U.S. is disgusting'

2010-03-16T00:39:00.002-05:00

Links of Interest

2010-03-15T10:42:00.000-05:00

It's Going To Implode: Buy Physical Gold - NOW at Zero Hedge dot com

The Anti-Income Tax Movement: Why They Are Right by Giordano Bruno at Neithercorp Press

Pink Floyd Wins Court Battle vs EMI Over Downloads at CNBC dot com

Ron Paul: ‘No’ on Census Support by Jean Spencer at The Wall Street Journal

ID Card for Workers at Center of Immigration Plan at Federal Jack dot com

Countdown to Health Insurance Nationalization by Sheldon Richman at C4L

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Quote of the Week

2010-03-15T10:21:00.000-05:00

"The U.S. Declaration of Independence recognizes the inalienable rights to 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.' Oddly enough, happiness turns out to be a slippery concept, and much of what Americans spend their lives pursuing does not actually increase their happiness...It seems that much of what passes for 'essential accoutrements of prosperity' such as large suburban homes, multiple vehicles and closets crammed with clothing do not bring happiness to their owners. Rather, they are largely the mirage-like results of marketing propaganda conjured up to generate profits, not life satisfaction or happiness."

--Charles Hugh Smith in Survival Plus

Why the Pledge of Allegiance is Wrong

2010-03-11T21:40:00.001-06:00

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation, under God, indivisible; with liberty and justice for all."

Those words sound innocent enough, right? Nothing wrong here. I spoke those words as a child in school and as a Boy Scout. A good conservative would think that this is a simple appeal to patriotism. Yet, there is a continuous debate about the words "under God" in the pledge. Some people say that they should not be forced to say the words "under God" because they violate their rights to freedom of religion, or in this case, freedom to not practice religion. I am a Christian, and it might surprise you that I agree with this sentiment. But, as usual, it is not for the same reason as the vast majority of those opposed to the pledge.

Lets take a look at a short history of the Pledge of Allegiance before we go any further with this line of reasoning.

The pledge was written in 1892 by a Baptist Minister named Francis Bellamy. Bellamy was a Christian Socialist who preached in his sermons that the middle class in the United States could create a planned economy with political, social, and economic equality for everyone. It wasn't until 1954, after a public campaign by the Knights of Columbus, that Congress changed the wording of the pledge to incorporate the "under God" phrase.

Ayn Rand was fond of saying, "Always check the premise of your argument." That little tidbit of advice is perfect in this situation. There has been a battle raging in the courts for close to two decades over the words "under God." Non-Christian parents are upset that their children are forced to pledge allegiance to a god they do not believe in. Christian parents say that this is just an endorsement of our form of government, and not an oath to any particular god. I say the premise of the whole thing is wrong from the start.

Libertarians have a special knack for wading through all the bullshit and finding the root cause of the problems. Personally, I refuse to pledge allegiance to anything, just out of principle. I took an oath once to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic, and that is an oath I will keep until the day I die. So, if I were going to pledge my allegiance to anything it would be to the Constitution; not the flag, the government, or the nation.

The words "under God" in the pledge have no special meaning to me whatsoever, because the entire pledge is based on the socialist premise that we should be required to pledge allegiance to a government or a symbol of that government. Most well meaning Americans on either side of this argument probably don't even know the socialist history of the pledge, yet they fight over it as if someone were trying to change the wording of the Declaration of Independence. The pledge is not a founding document or principle! It was not created by Thomas Jefferson or Ben Franklin! It was written by a friggin' socialist who advocated subservience to national government!

These court cases over the pledge are an example of the smoke and mirrors that are shown to us every day on the lame-stream news. If they can keep us arguing about the phrase "under God" we will never notice that we are being forced to pledge allegiance to our government. Another example would be the words "In God We Trust" on our fiat currency. If we continue to argue over a phrase like this, we will never see the truth that our money is worthless and the Federal Reserve is fleecing us out of our commodities and assets. This is all a carefully crafted game of misrepresentation and propaganda.
The liberals who are against the pledge in public schools have been duped. The pledge is a medium of indoctrination that actually supports their idea of a strong centrally planned government. The conservatives on the other side have been fleeced into supporting a type of indoctrination that is counter to their beliefs in government. Libertarians see the truth on both sides, and refuse to send their kids to public school altogether.

The "under God" phrase is just a distraction. In true Saul Alinsky fashion, the "under God" issue has been polorized and framed as the debate, when the actual debate should be about true freedom. In a free society, we would not be compelled to pledge allegiance to anything or anyone. This is the simulacra of liberty. You actually think you have a choice, but the premise is what hurts you in the end. Once you take the red pill, you can see the Matrix for what it truly is. Don't fall for the media hype. Take some time to research a topic before you form a knee jerk opinion on it. You will often be surprised by what you discover.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Addiction

2010-03-09T00:08:00.000-06:00

I thought I would write an update for everyone. I have been addicted to nicotine for the past 15-16 years. I chew or dip every day. I started out with Wintergreen Skoal, then went to Kodiak, and ended up on Copenhagen while in the Marines. This has been a habit that I have struggled with for a long time. But today, I went cold turkey. I am on my first day of misery. I am quitting.

This brings to mind two points in the survival arena. One: Addiction to, or dependence on anything is not a positive way to live. You can not be self sufficient if you are dependant on anything. This goes for all substances, tobacco, alcohol, etc. By living a self sufficient lifestyle, we are trying to break our dependence on all things. This might be foreign oil or the interconnected systems of dependence that bring food from other continents to your table. Nicotine is a hard habit to break, but it will be worth it in the end. It is one more step to a life of self sufficiency.

Two: If you are going to quit, do it now, before the crash. We are starting to see the first signs of the crash now. Its happening right now. Any number of factors could tip the scales and send prices for everything sky high. You don't want to be stuck in a position of having to choose between cigarettes and food. If you can only afford one, it will be a real hard choice. And the withdrawals that you will be going through will make a bad situation that much worse.

I have dipped one can of snuff per day for the last 10+ years. That figures out to about 14-15,000 dollars wasted on a substance that will kill me in the end. So, from today on, I will take the money I would have spent on tobacco and use it for precious metals and food preps.

Your thoughts?

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Links of Interest

2010-03-07T06:13:00.000-06:00

Neo-Survivalism by Gerald Celente at Lew Rockwell dot com

Elizabeth Warren Discusses The Global "Enron": From Wall Street To Greece And Back at Zero Hedge dot com

Black and gold: oil and the US dollar by Matthew Wild at OfTwoMinds.com

The True Cost of Public Education YouTube video

The Constitution Does Not Protect Our Property by Tom Mullen at Tom Mullen's Blog

Handing Our Lives Over to the FDA by Ralph Fucetola JD at C4L

Federal pay ahead of private industry at USA Today

Before Administering the Lethal Injection, Dr. Obama Offers to Sterilize the Needle by Michael F. Cannon at CATO

Some Thoughts on Supply-side Economics by Richard M. Ebeling at Mises

See you at Galt's Gulch!

WOW!

2010-03-03T23:43:00.000-06:00

My dad forwarded this email to me, and it was so funny, I had to post it. I am literally LOLing!

AN ACTUAL CRAIG'S LIST PERSONALS AD

To the Guy Who Tried to Mug Me in Downtown Savannah night before last.

Date: 2009-05-27, 1 :43 a.m. E.S.T.

I was the guy wearing the black Burberry jacket that you demanded that I hand over, shortly after you pulled the knife on me and my girlfriend, threatening our lives. You also asked for my girlfriend's purse and earrings. I can only hope that you somehow come across this rather important message.

First, I'd like to apologize for your embarrassment; I didn't expect you to actually crap in your pants when I drew my pistol after you took my jacket.. The evening was not that cold, and I was wearing the jacket for a reason.. My girlfriend had just bought me that Kimber Model 1911 .45 ACP pistol for my birthday, and we had picked up a shoulder holster for it that very evening. Obviously you agree that it is a very intimidating weapon when pointed at your head ... isn't it?!

I know it probably wasn't fun walking back to wherever you'd come from with that brown sludge in your pants. I'm sure it was even worse walking bare-footed since I made you leave your shoes, cell phone, and wallet with me. [That prevented you from calling or running to your buddies to come help mug us again].

After I called your mother or "Momma" as you had her listed in your cell, I explained the entire episode of what you'd done. Then I went and filled up my gas tank as well as those of four other people in the gas station, -- on your credit card. The guy with the big motor home took 150 gallons and was extremely grateful!

I gave your shoes to a homeless guy outside Vinnie Van Go Go's, along with all the cash in your wallet. [That made his day!]

I then threw your wallet into the big pink "pimp mobile" that was parked at the curb .... after I broke the windshield and side window and keyed the entire driver's side of the car.

Later, I called a bunch of phone sex numbers from your cell phone. Ma Bell just now shut down the line, although I only used the phone for a little over a day now, so what 's going on with that? Earlier, I managed to get in two threatening phone calls to the DA's office and one to the FBI.
The FBI guy seemed really intense and we had a nice long chat (I guess while he traced your number etc.).

In a way, perhaps I should apologize for not killing you ... but I feel this type of retribution is a far more appropriate punishment for your threatened crime. I wish you well as you try to sort through some of these rather immediate pressing issues, and can only hope that you have the opportunity to reflect upon, and perhaps reconsider, the career path you've chosen to pursue in life.. Remember, next time you might not be so lucky. Have a good day!

Thoughtfully yours,

Alex

Links of Interest

2010-03-02T22:25:00.000-06:00

Concealed carry advances in Illinois by Jamey Dunn at Capital Fax Blog Illinoize

Obama vs. the 10th Amendment by Chuck Norris at World Net Daily

Wall Street's Bailout Hustle by MATT TAIBBI at Rolling Stone

New Blog of Interest: Guns and Bikinis What more could a guy ask for?

See you at Galt's Gulch!

The Census Is Getting Personal

2010-03-02T21:48:00.000-06:00

Remember to check out my article, The 2010 Census and Your Constitutional Requirement. Don't give them and more info that you are required. That means, fill in the number of people living in your house and then pay the fine. To hell with them!

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Chief Instructor

2010-03-01T11:51:00.000-06:00

I have been neglect in my networking. Chief Instructor has commented on this blog over and over again, and for some reason I have not added him to my public blog list. He is on my Google Reader, but not my blog list. Sorry I missed that. He has some good info on his blog.

Check him out here

New Domain Name

2010-03-01T07:33:00.001-06:00

Just a formatting update. I have recently purchased a domain name. The new URL for this blog will be http://www.galtsgulchorbust.com/ For those of you who have this blog saved to favorites under the old URL, do not worry, it will redirect to the new one.

I thought this would be easier for you to tell all of your friends about this great blog that you read every day. Wink wink, nudge nudge...

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Our Brave New World: Huxley is Rolling Over in His Grave!!!

2010-03-01T06:31:00.000-06:00

No need for a tin foil hat here. This is the honest to God's truth.

Lithium in Water Shown to Curb Suicide Discovery Channel Article

Lithium in drinking water has 'anti-suicide' effect New Scientist Article

Lithium levels in drinking water and risk of suicide The British Journal of Psychiatry Report

Link to the blog where I found this: You are being deceived

Looks like I am going to have to break down and by a Berkey Water Filter soon.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Quote of the Week

2010-03-01T05:09:00.000-06:00

"When God gives you lemmings, make lemming-aide."

-Sgt. Jarhead

Emails From My Uncle

2010-02-28T23:30:00.000-06:00

The Audit

At the end of the tax year, the IRS office sent an inspector to audit the books of a local hospital.

While the IRS agent was checking the books he turned to the CFO of the hospital and said, "I notice you buy a lot of bandages. What do you do with the end of the roll when there's too little left to be of any use?"

"Good question," noted the CFO. "We save them up and send them back to the bandage company and every now and then they send us a free box of bandages.

"Oh," replied the auditor, somewhat disappointed that his unusual question had a practical answer. But on he went, in his obnoxious way.

"What about all these plaster purchases? What do you do with what's left over after setting a cast on a patient?"

"Ah, yes," replied the CFO, realizing that the inspector was trying to trap him with an unanswerable question. "We save it and send it back to the manufacturer, and every now and then they send us a free package of plaster."

"I see," replied the auditor, thinking hard about how he could fluster the know-it-all CFO.

"Well," he went on, "What do you do with all the leftover foreskins from the circumcisions you perform?"

"Here, too, we do not waste," answered the CFO. "What we do is save all the little foreskins and send them to the IRS Office, and about once a year they send us a complete dick."

Links of Interest

2010-02-28T09:36:00.000-06:00

Head of IMF Proposes New Reserve Currency By HARRY DUNPHY at ABC News

Utah firearms freedom act signed into law by: Gary Wood at 10th Amendment Center

The Politics of Obedience by Etienne de la Boetie at The Mises Institute

A Society of Criminals by Ben O'Neill at The Mises Institute

Scott Brown's Bait and Switch

2010-02-26T00:38:00.000-06:00

I know this is old news, but I have been busy. Scott Brown, the new GOP Senator from Massachusetts and Republican savior for health care has voiced his support on a 15 billion dollar jobs stimulus bill. See what the so-called small government conservatives do? Brown said he would stop the Health Care Bill, but just added another $15 billion dollar burden to the tax payers. If you continue to vote Republican, you can continue to expect more bait and switch tactics like this. At least the Democrats are honest about their big government objectives. Still, the hypocrisy runs deep on both sides of the isle. Vote third party!

Democrats woo Scott Brown’s vote for president’s $15B jobs bill Feb 19, 2010

House nearing deal, aiming for vote on Senate jobs bill before weekend Feb 25, 2010

READ THIS SOON!

2010-02-22T12:20:00.000-06:00

The Day the Dollar Died

See you at Galt's Gulch!

The Best Band Ever.....PERIOD!

2010-02-22T10:43:00.000-06:00

I thought I would get away from the usual posting on politics, current events, and survival; and share some videos with you. Cross Canadian Ragweed has been the background music for my post writing for the past year. Enjoy!

Discography
Carney 1998
Highway 337 2001
Cross Canadian Ragweed 2002
Soul Gravy 2004
Garage 2005
Mission California 2007
Happiness and All Other Things 2009

Dueling Shotguns: Mossberg 590 vs Remington 870 (Survivalism 101)

2010-02-22T07:28:00.002-06:00

Every good survivalist worth his weight in salt will tell you that a good pump action shotgun is an absolute necessity when it comes to rounding out a gun collection. It is versatile, easy to use, and puts you in control of the action. This last point is a key factor in choosing a pump action over an autoloader. The pump action has far fewer moving parts that can be fouled and cause the gun to fail when you need it most. This is the same reasoning some people prefer a revolver over a semi-auto when discussing home defense pistols. Additionally, the sound of a round being chambered with a pump action shotgun is universally recognized. No other sound will make a home intruder’s asshole start eating his underwear like the sound of a pump action shotgun. It induces instant pucker factor. The sound, in and of itself, is sometimes enough of a deterrent to send the bad guys back out a broken window.

When you practice with a pump action enough, you will find that you can fire at the same rate as an autoloader by working the action yourself. All it takes is constant rearward pressure pulling back on the fore grip with your forward hand. You should be doing this anyway, to pull the weapon into the pocket of your shoulder, but a little added pressure helps work the action quicker. As the weapon fires, this rearward pressure automatically pulls the action to the rear. This is done in conjunction with the recoil of the gun. As you start to come back down on target, you push the action forward again, and you are right back where you were when you pulled the trigger the first time. In the time it takes you to accept the recoil of an autoloader, and then get back on target; you can manually move the action of a pump gun. Perfect practice makes perfect.

What I want to cover here is two of the top pump action shotgun models used for home defense and military & police applications: the Mossberg 590 and the Remington 870.

Some gun owners say that the Remington 870 is the standard by which all other pump action home defense shotguns are measured. Here are some of the customization options from Remington’s website: Choose from wood or synthetic stocks. Blued or parkerized finishes. Magazine extensions for added firepower and quick-change barrels. Choice of bead, rifle, or ghost ring sights. To simplify field maintenance, all parts and assemblies are interchangeable, gun to gun. The trigger plate assembly is quickly and easily removed for inspection and cleaning. Double action bars deliver the smoothest, surest operation in the business. The breech bolt locks into the heat-treated barrel extension forming a rock solid assembly with constant head space. You can choose from either an 18” or 20” barrel. To the left is a picture of the 870 with rifle sites set forward for easy target acquisition.

The Mossberg 590, in my opinion, is the better gun. From Mossberg’s website: Specifications that include a heavy-walled parkerized barrel, metal trigger guard assembly, metal safety button, and an upgraded magazine tube that can easily be opened for cleaning and is readily adaptable for a magazine extension. The receiver-mounted safety is convenient for right or left-handed shooters; simply push the button forward and you’re ready to fire. In addition, every Mossberg Special Purpose shotgun features a host of proven Mossberg features like an anti-jam elevator, dual extractors for reliable feeding, and positive shot shell extraction and ejection. Stock choices include a 6-position adjustable tactical stock, pistol-grip Cruiser® models, standard full-size polymer stock, or a polymer Speedfeed® model that holds four additional shells in the stock for quick and easy reloading. Every 590A1 Special Purpose model features a drilled and tapped receiver, factory-ready for Picatinny rail, scope base or optics installation. Barrels lengths include 18-1/2" (with 5+1 magazine capacity) or 20" (with 8+1 magazine capacity), all with cylinder bore. Above right is a picture of the 590.

Pros and Cons

Either of these shotguns will do a bang up job (pun intended) with home defense and retreat security. The Remington is somewhat more customizable. In my area, parts for customization can be found on gun store shelves, whereas parts for the Mossberg have to be ordered. This may be different in your area, so as always, shop around. The Remington has a receiver made of steel where the Mossberg’s receiver is made of aluminum. Some people take this as a big selling point, but it doesn’t make that much difference to me. Sure, steel is stronger, but it also rusts. My first shotgun, given to me by my father at age 14, was a Mossberg 20 gauge pump, and it has never let me down. I still hunt small game with it, and it always gets the job done, aluminum receiver and all.

Price really isn’t a concern in the decision making process. Both guns can be found in the 300-500 dollar range, depending on the features you want. Customization after the fact is relatively the same price as well.

The biggest thing I like about the Mossberg is the ergonomic factor. The safety for the Remington is a button just behind the trigger, and pushes from right to left. This makes working the safety kind of tricky for left-handed shooters. The Mossberg’s safety is found on the top of the gun just behind the rear site area. It is pushed forward with the thumb, making it ambidextrous. Additionally, the Remington’s action lock lever is placed forward of the trigger guard. The Mossberg has its action lock lever on the left side of the gun just rear of the trigger. While this may seem like a small point in the grand scheme of things, I like the ability to chamber a round while keeping my finger close to the trigger. The Remington requires you to move your entire hand into a new position to chamber the first round. Since I hunt small game with a Mossberg, chambering from this position just comes natural to me, so it is much easier for me to perform in the dark under duress.

Notice the placement of the safety and the action lever lock on the 870. Clearly not designed for lefties, or for snap shooting.

The 590 has both safety and action lever lock in a more ergonomic position.

So, if you are in the market for a good home defense shotgun or a trench gun, either model will do, but my money goes to the Mossberg 590.

See you at Galt’s Gulch!

Links of Interest

2010-02-22T02:01:00.000-06:00

Politics

Only 21% Say U.S. Government Has Consent of the Governed ... Those with the Lowest Incomes are the Most Skeptical at Zero Hedge dot com

Trouble at the Fed by Antony P. Mueller at The Mises Institute

Economics

Lew Rockwell on von Mises, Ron Paul, Free-Markets and the Future of Freedom by Scott Smith at Lew Rockwell dot com QUOTE FROM THE TEXT: "As with most people, it began with the observation that something was profoundly wrong with the conventional wisdom, which even from grade school seemed to presume that wise masters at the top knew more than anyone else and so should be in charge of everyone and everything. That supposition seemed to lack empirical evidence, so far as I could tell. I discovered the literature of freedom hiding in the library and realized that truth was something I would forever have to dig for. It wouldn't be given to me by network news anchors, politicians, nor the leading lights in establishment academia. When I discovered what was true, I could not resist acting on it, and telling others. It really isn't any more complicated than that."

Government Against Capitalists by Ludwig von Mises at The Mises Institute

Survival

Heirloom Organics Non-Hybrid Seeds

Wheat Sales dot com

Bulk Foods dot com

Our Happy Homestead, Supplies for Self Sufficiency

Incremental Preparedness: The Good, Better, Best Approach, by Jeff B. at Survival Blog dot com

Everything Else

Monsanto ‘faked’ data for approvals claims its ex-chief at Federal Jack dot com

FDA Invades Non-Commercial Amish Farm in PA at Federal Jack dot com
The Chemist's War By Deborah Blum at Slate dot com

Fifty Years After The Myth of Mental Illness by Thomas Szasz at Lew Rockwell dot com

Hushing Up Conspiracy Theories by Jeff Riggenbach at The Mises Institute

You will notice that four of my links in the Survival section are suppliers. I thought I would post these links so you can utilize them, like I do. I recommend all four companies, and have placed orders with each of them in the past.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Quote of the Week

2010-02-21T22:25:00.000-06:00

"A child-like man is not a man whose development has been arrested; on the contrary, he is a man who has given himself a chance of continuing to develop long after most adults have muffled themselves in the cocoon of middle-aged habit and convention."

--Aldous Huxley

Ron Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll

2010-02-20T21:03:00.000-06:00

Ron Paul was America's best hope for real change in the last presidental election. Let's pray that he runs again in 2012!

So Effing Predictable!!!

2010-02-19T14:20:00.000-06:00

I told you this would happen!

The Austin Texas Bombing Is A HUGE Image Blow To The "Tea Party" Right

More bullshit to follow, keep checking back for more biased spin like this!

See you at Galt's Gulch!

From One Extreme To Another and Back Again

2010-02-18T19:39:00.001-06:00

Wow, just when you think things can't get any worse, they do. The establishment has been trying to link violent acts to the freedom movement for a while. An example is this article, written by a total nut job who tries to link Alabama professor and murderer Amy Bishop to the tea party movement.

Now, a very bad thing has happened. A severely unstable idiot, Joe Stack, has flown an airplane into an IRS building. Here is the story, and here is what can only be viewed as a suicide note. While I may agree with the sentiment of some of his thoughts, his actions are totally unacceptable. Violence is not the answer! What the hell was this douche bag thinking?

The thing that strikes me as extremely odd, is the very last statement in his so-called manifesto:

The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.

I really do not know where this guy is coming from. He sounds anti-capitalist to me. Now, there is one thing I can guarantee; the hacks in the media will spin this as a tea party terror attack. Because the liberty movement is the anti-establishment movement right now, they will twist this tragic incident into something that it is not just to lay blame at the feet of their opponents. Just because he was upset with the IRS, and the liberty movement is as well, does not mean that we all share the same views. This moron was nuttier than a squirrel turd, and I refuse to be grouped in with his kind.

Noteworthy Link

2010-02-18T18:27:00.000-06:00

Dakin did an awesome post over at Bison Survival Blog. It is definitely food for thought. I thought I would pass it on for everyone to read and ponder. Enjoy.

THE HUNS HAVE ARRIVED

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Glenn Beck, You Are a Son of a Bitch

2010-02-18T10:38:00.001-06:00

Back when I still watched television, the only news show that I liked watch was Glenn Beck. I tuned into the other commentary shows, but Beck seemed like he was speaking the truth. I have a few videos from his show posted here on my blog. Some are from the days prior to joining the Fox News team, and another is of Beck and Penn Jillette talking libertarianism. It was that video that suckered me into believing that Beck had libertarian views.

I supported the 9-12 project at first, because I thought Beck's heart was in the right place. I viewed it as someone using their place as a national personality to embolden grass roots movements. His work on exposing ACORN was a good thing, and most of his "follow the money" type segments conform to my views on government abuse of the free market.

But his little "gotcha" moment with Debra Medina was over the top. Let it be stated, for the official record, that I am 100% NOT a 9/11 truther. I do not believe that it was an inside job, or any other such tin foil hat bullshit. But there are some questions that have not been answered. The entire business with Building 7 was never even addressed by the 9/11 Commission Report. So, in that context, what was said between Debra Medina and Glenn Beck was complete and total bullshit!

But wait, Beck's darling and fellow Fox News Contributor, Sarah Palin shared similar views on the 2008 campaign trail. Not for the same reasons, but nevertheless, she said that she did support another investigation.

Glenn, you no longer have my support in anything you do. Medina is the only Constitutionalist on the Texas ticket, and you have tried to ruin her. Your comments after the interview were damaging. Your libertarian talk with Penn Jillette was nothing more than empty platitudes. You do not stand for constitutional government. You are a shill for Rick Perry and the neo-con wing of the GOP. Keep writing your books and making your millions. You, just like all the other talking heads in the media, are only out to make a name for yourself. Try pulling your head out of Palin's ass for a day or two, and maybe you will see what is important again. You, Mr. Beck, are a son-of-a-bitch!

See the rest of you at Galt's Gulch with Debra Medina!

Quote of the Week

2010-02-18T08:37:00.000-06:00

[CONCERNING THE NINTH AMENDMENT]

The enumeration in the constitution, of certain rights, [retained by the people] shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Here is an authoritative declaration, that "the people" have "other rights" than those specially "enumerated in the constitution"; and that these "other rights" were "retained by the people"; that is, that congress should have no power to infringe them.
What, then, were these "other rights," that had not been "enumerated"; but which were nevertheless "retained by the people"?
Plainly they were men's natural "rights"; for these are the only "rights" that "the people" ever had, or, consequently, that they could "retain."
And as no attempt is made to enumerate all these "other rights," or any considerable number of them, and as it would be obviously impossible to enumerate all, or any considerable number, of them; and as no exceptions are made of any of them, the necessary, the legal, the inevitable inference is, that they were all "retained"; and that congress should have no power to violate any of them.
Now, if congress and the courts had attempted to obey this amendment, as they were constitutionally bound to do, they would soon have found that they had really no lawmaking power whatever left to them; because they would have found that they could make no law at all, of their own invention, that would not violate men's natural rights.

--Lysander Spooner in A LETTER TO GROVER CLEVELAND

Dichotomy in Government, The Two Party System, and Other Rantings

2010-02-18T03:59:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, I tried watching some television for the first time in a long while, and it made me sick. I caught a little bit of Rachel Maddow on MSNBC and then flipped over to Fox and watched a few minutes of Sean Hannity. It is amazing how the spin masters and propagandists work on television. It plays perfectly into the two party system. Since most Americans get their news from a cable news network, they naturally fall in line with one ideology or the other. One might say, "Well, I agree with most of what Hannity says, so he must be right on the rest." Or the opposite, "Maddow has some good points, so I will take the rest of it hook, line, and sinker." The entirety of television news is this forced duality. It is no wonder that most people find it so foreign to view the issues through the lens of total liberty.

I did have a bit of an epiphany while watching this dichotomy unfold. The terms liberal and conservative really only apply to how a person views social issues. The exact opposite is true when you apply those same terms to economic views. A so-called conservative is actually very liberal, in the Jeffersonian/Austrian definition of the word, when it comes to economics. And a so-called liberal is conservative, in the old-world meaning of the word, on economics. So, the libertarian view could be described as classically liberal on both social and economic issues, but for entirely different reasons than a "liberal" or "conservative" has.

The libertarian sees how both of these classifications of the issues affect each other. The modern liberal wants freedom on the social front, but never realizes that the main contributing factor in most of their arguments has to do with government control and regulation of the free market economy. Case in point: those who fight for gay marriage want equality for everyone, but what does that equality really mean? At the root of their argument three points arise. They want to be able to file joint tax returns, pass their estate on to their partner without huge a huge tax burden, and have the ability to make medical decisions for their partner if the need arises. Two of those three issues wouldn't even be issues if our economic structure were one of limited government intervention (no federal income taxes or estate taxes), and the other is a simple power of attorney issue that could be solved easily with a private contract, without the need of government. By abolishing the root cause of the problem (taxes) the issue of equality goes away. Take government out of economics, and individuals are allowed to live free.

On the flip side, a conservative looks at fighting the War on Drugs as a way to combat moral degradation brought on by the use of illicit substances. He also looks at the crime issues involved with this so-called war, and decides to take what he considers to be the moral high ground. But the prohibition of alcohol showed us that criminalizing substances only creates an underground criminal marketplace for them. If a free market approach were taken on these banned substances, the moral degradation and crime would cease to exist. Sure, there are alcoholics now, and there will still be drug users in the future. Those who initiated force, and committed crimes against innocent people to feed their habit would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but simple possession and use would be allowed. Legalization would cut millions of tax dollars out of the prison system and work out better for everyone in the end. It is hypocritical for conservatives to take a stance of low taxes, yet continue to support large government programs like the War on Drugs. By abolishing the laws that resrtict personal consumption of substances, the issue of higher taxes goes away. Take government out of morality, and individuals are allowed to live free.

Personal responsibility comes into play in both areas here. Those who support government regulation of the economy enact legislation that supports a welfare state. Those who support government regulation of morality enact legislation that supports a police state. When both of these are combined, you end up with a government that controls all aspects of the individual's life. Many people who are liberty minded on one end are complacent on the other. They value personal responsibility in some aspects of life, but are more than willing to turn over the other portions to government. Libertarianism espouses personal responsibility in both social and economic matters. Leave it up to the individual to choose how to live!

Ayn Rand reminded us over and over again in her writings to always check the premises of our arguments. When you follow these issues back to the main root of the problem, you discover an encroachment of government power on liberty at every front. There is a solution to this problem. Get the federal government out of the game and leave it up to the individual states to decide how they want to handle these issues. That is why we have a 10th Amendment to the Constitution. When these issues are decided closer to the individual level, the population has a much better chance of living how they see fit. If a person does not like the way their state is governing, they can vote with their feet and find a state that shares the views they hold important.

As David Boaz said in Libertarianism: A Primer "One difference between libertarianism and socialism is that a socialist society can’t tolerate groups of people practicing freedom, but a libertarian society can comfortably allow people to choose voluntary socialism." The same is true of the social issues we debate in society today. The difference between libertarianism and a state that rules by a moral agenda is, a morality centered state can't tolerate groups of people practicing freedom, but a libertarian society can comfortably allow people to choose their own moral code. Nothing less than total freedom will do!

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Links of Interest

2010-02-16T11:13:00.000-06:00

What the heck is Federalism? by David Sands at The 10th Amendment Center

Down with the Presidency by Lew Rockwell at The Mises Institute Text of a speech given in 1996

Cannabis, Compassion and the Tenth Amendment by Patrick Reagan at C4L

First Lady requires more than twenty attendants at Canada Free Press

Greek FinMin unveils tax reform, wage policy at Reuters "From 1. Jan. 2011, every transaction above 1,500 euros between natural persons and businesses, or between businesses, will not be considered legal if it is done in cash. Transactions will have to be done through debit or credit cards"
Looks like Greece has taken the first step in moving towards a cashless society. Be affraid! Hat tip to Chris for sending me this last article.

Food Storage: Rice (Survivalism 101)

2010-02-16T07:06:00.001-06:00

In this post I am going to pass on my food storage methods for bulk foods, and give you some measurements and pricing on how cheep and easy food storage can be. I will cover rice in this post, and will continue on in following posts with other grains that can be stored.

Rice has been a staple food for a large portion of the worlds population. It ranks second only to maize (corn) as the world's most used staple food item. Storage is relatively easy, and cost efficient if you do things right. My method is a little different than others you may have seen. I pay a little higher price to buy some safety and security. Let's look at some numbers see how far rice will go in a SHTF scenario. Some links are provided throughout the numbers for your convenience.

One serving of uncooked rice for one person is about 1/4 cup, this equals 1/2 cup when the rice is cooked. A one pound bag of uncooked rice holds roughly 2.5 cups of the grain. So a one pound bag of rice holds about 10 servings of rice. A 50 lbs bag of rice holds around 500 servings. If you were to eat rice with every meal (three times per day) a 50 lbs bag of rice would last one person 166 days. We should round that estimate down to 150 days just to be certain we have enough.

Most people in Western cultures do not eat rice three times per day, but in a pinch it could be done. When rice is supplemented with other stored grains and foods it can be made to last much longer than the 150 day estimate given above. If rice is eaten only one serving per day, it would last 500 days. This is a more realistic estimate of how you would eat in a post SHTF scenario. When planning for overkill, I come to the conclusion that one 50 lbs bag of rice, if supplemented with other staple food items such as beans, pasta, and wheat; will last one person one year.

A quick Internet search of pricing for a 50 lbs bag of rice ranges from $25 at Costco to $60 for Long Grain Brown Rice. Please note that these prices are at the time of posting, and may change in the future. Better deals can usually be found locally. Given these prices, a family of two could spend roughly $85 dollars, have some variety, and be able to feed themselves for a year when supplemented with other staple food items. Why haven't you done this yet?

Food Storage

I will give you my method for bulk food storage. This is not the only way to do things. There are many different opinions on this topic, so be sure to search around the web and find a technique that works for you. My philosophy, as always, is based on overkill.

Supplies

I like to use 6 gallon food grade buckets from Nitro Pak. I get them in a set of four which cuts the price down a little bit on that site, and I order the gamma seal lids to go with them. I get the gamma seal lids in various colors so I can sort the grain in each bucket by the color of the lid. The gamma seal lids snap on the top of the bucket like a normal bucket lid, but have a threaded screw off lid on the inside. This makes it easier to get in and out of the bucket. Nitro-Pak can be a little pricey, so if these products are not to your liking, by all means shop around and find what works best for you.

In addition to the buckets, I use the Seal and Save vacuum sealer. I picked mine up at Sam's Club for less than $100. Both the buckets, and the Seal and Save are one shot - one kill items. Once you buy them, you can continue using them for a long time, so invest now and you will never have to buy them again.

When storing any bulk food item, it is wise to pick up Oxygen Absorbers and a little known product called Diatomaceous Earth. Oxygen Absorbers are small packets of Iron Carbonate that take the O2 out of an enclosed area. The iron in the packet oxidises (rusts) and uses up all the O2. Anyone who has had the pleasure of eating a military MRE will have seen these things stuck to the bottom of their pound cake or cardboard cookie. I buy these from Nitro-Pak as well.

Diatomaceous earth (DE) is made up of the fossilized remains of diatoms which was a kind of hard shelled algae. It is very abrasive on a microscopic level, and will damage the exoskeleton of any insect that comes in contact with it. As the exoskeleton is damaged, the DE makes its way inside the little critters and dehydrates them. The result is the death of the insect. DE has a million uses. It can be used as a dewormer and flea/tick treatment for your pets, it can be sprinkled in door jambs and electrical boxes to keep insects out of homes. The main use for what we are discussing is killing all of the little creepy crawlies that might ruin your food. You have to be certain that you purchase food grade DE. There are various industrial grades of DE that are used for other purposes. If you try to use one of the industrial grades in food storage, you are going to be in for a world of hurt. You can read up on all of the various other uses for DE here, but I would recommend not placing an order with this site. I tried to place an order a few months back and did not receive my product. Go to any local health food store and ask for some. If they do not have it, they can order it for you. I paid $7 for a three pound bag at my local health food store.

Putting it all together

You have your rice, you have your buckets, you have your vacuum seal bags, and you have your O2 absorbers and DE. How do you use all of this to store your food long term? Start by figuring about how much rice you and your family will consume in a week.

A family of three (two adults and one 5 year old crumb muncher) might eat about 2 lbs of rice per week taking into account the figures given above. So you want to measure your grain into 2 pound weekly serving bags. Adding DE to your food storage can be a little tricky. A good rule of thumb is to add 2% DE to your mix of grain. Anything higher than a two percent mix can be harmful. This is about one cup per 40 lbs of grain. So for a two pound weekly bag, you will want to add about 2.5 teaspoons. [AUTHORS NOTE - These are my conversions and my method. Before doing anything suggested in this article, you should check all available resources and figure things out for yourself.]

So, take your 2lbs of rice and pour it into a seal and save bag. Add your DE and shake everything up to ensure the DE coats the grain as evenly as possible. Throw in an O2 absorber, and vacuum seal the bag. It is that easy. Once you have gone through the entire 50 lbs bag of rice, take all of your weekly servings and place them in your bucket. You will notice that the volume of rice is significantly smaller now that all of your grain is vacuum sealed. All of the air has been taken out, so you should be able to store much more than 50 lbs of grain in a 5-6 gallon bucket. Once you have the bucket filled up, take one full cup of DE and pour it over the top of your packets. This will kill any bugs that get into the bucket, prior to them burrowing into your sealed bags. In the event a bug does get into a bag, it has only ruined one week's worth of food as opposed to a whole 6 gallon bucket of grain. That bug will likely die in the individual bag prior to it laying eggs, so you can just toss the bag and keep the rest.

This method may cost a little more but it will keep your grains easy to use in convenient one week storage packets, and will ensure that only small portions get ruined if you have a sudden insect attack.

Helpful Info
Oxygen Absorbers, Desiccants and Diatomaceous Earth

Be sure to visit my disclaimer page in case you mess up and poison your family with DE. I will not be held responsible.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Gold to Silver Ratio

2010-02-16T02:06:00.000-06:00

Gold/Silver Ratio January-February 2010

The gold/silver ratio — the quantity of silver (in Troy ounces) required to obtain one ounce of gold — finished above 66, inching up from its January close of just under 65. The last time the gold/silver ratio reached this level was in August 2009. Silver continues to be priced relatively cheaply compared to gold, but it is slowly making up ground.

From Northwest Territorial Mint Precious Metals Monthly

Man Arrested For Selling Biscuts and Gravy Without Business Liscense

2010-02-16T02:03:00.000-06:00

Are you freakin' kidding me? This is statism to the nth degree!

Are We New to the Movement, or is the Movement New to Society?

2010-02-15T14:05:00.000-06:00

I have been scouring the Internet for the last few hours, and I am amazed at how many blogs, forums, groups, citizen activists, alternative media outlets, and liberty organizations there are out there. It is amazing to see the Liberty Movement alive and kicking! But, I have to wonder where I fit into all of this. I feel like I came into this movement kind of late. I missed the Ron Paul Revolution for my own selfish reasons, but woke up soon thereafter. But how late was I?

So, my question for you is, am I new to something that has been going on for a long time? CATO, The Mises Institute, The Libertarian Party; these have all been around for decades. There are obviously some people out there that have been awake for quite a while. Since that is the case, how have the numbers changed between then and now? Is this movement growing by leaps and bounds, or am I misinformed about the status of the entire operation? Is this sudden uprising of citizens for liberty really something new and exciting, or has it always been there? I would hate to think that I have been missing out on something like this for a long time.

In closing, I want to say something that may strike some of you as a little odd. I have found a new respect for the hippies of my parent's generation. Although I do not agree with any of their Marxist bullshit, I admire the fact that they were able to form a movement and change the course of American politics, and they did it all without the help of the Internet. That is a task that I see as almost impossible by today's standards. Of course, the anti-establishment movement of the 1960s has now become the establishment we are fighting against. The liberty movement is the new anti-establishment movement. To put things in their terms, the old proletariat has become the new bourgeoisie! What a bunch of hypocrites!

Your thoughts?

Quote of the Week

2010-02-15T12:02:00.000-06:00

"Members and front organizations must continually embarrass, discredit, and degrade our critics. When obstructionists become too irritating, label them as fascist or Nazi or anti-Semitic. Constantly associate those who oppose us with those names that already have a bad smell. The association will, after enough repetition, become 'fact' in the public mind."

--Central Committee of the Communist Party, 1943, in an instruction sent to Communists around the world.

Shocking But Not Surprising

2010-02-15T10:32:00.001-06:00

I had planned on doing a survival post today, but this information was just too good to pass up.

Below is a list of countries that are currently occupied by the US Military. SOURCE

Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belgium
Belize
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burma
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Congo
Costa Rica
Cote D'lvoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France Gabon
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Guatemala
Guinea
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Liberia
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malaysia
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mexico
Moldova
Mongolia
Morocco
Mozambique
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua Niger
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Somalia
Spain
South Africa
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

That is 146 countries! There are 195 countries on the entire planet, and we have a presence in roughly 75% of them! This is unsustainable!

For those of you who think we need a strong military, I totally agree with you, but I think they should be kept here at home for defense of our nation. Do we really need them in this many countries around the world? We still have troops stationed in Germany and Japan 65 year after WWII, in South Korea 57 years after that conflict, and in Vietnam 35 years years after that war. If anyone belives that Obama is going to pull out of Iraq or Afghanistan, I have a bridge for sale! The US Military is the single largest consumer of oil in the world! SOURCE

Think of how much money we are spending every day on this. Anyone who says they stand for low taxes on one hand, and supports this kind of global militarization on the other needs to get their facts straight and recheck the premise of their argument! It doesn’t matter who is in control, Democrats or Republicans, Liberals or Conservatives; war is second nature to the American political establishment. This is not the only cause, but it certainly plays a large factor in our economic woes right now. When I talk about scaling back the size and scope of the government, I mean in all aspects, including the military.

But like I said yesterday, I guess all of this is OK as long as your party is in control of things. It will be interesting to see how many campaign promises Obama breaks, and how his cult of followers will react. Gimme a friggin' break, he is no different than Bush!

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Links of Interest

2010-02-14T16:39:00.000-06:00

I thought I would do a links post today without the politics, economics, or philosophy. I have been pretty hot and heavy on my activism, and have neglected to post anything meaningful on survivalism for a long time. So, in the spirit of the blog, I am going to start posting more frequently in my Survivalism 101 section. Below is a list of links about prepping and the survival lifestyle. Enjoy

Just In Time Preppers at Prepare!

How I Made My iPhone a Useful Survival Reference at Survival Blog

For The Spouses, Another Perspective at TSLRF

What You Should Know About Wheat at The Survivalist Blog

Thought I would leave you with a little fire arms love at the end. See you at Galt's Gulch!

Roaming the Blogosphere (Observations and Rantings)

2010-02-14T13:30:00.001-06:00

I find it fun to just bounce around the net and read blogs. I sometimes have random people drop by here and leave a comment or two, and then disappear into the blogosphere again. I always try to click on their profile and follow it to their blog so I can see what they have to say. I do the same to other people. Just stop by and read their latest three or four posts, and sometimes leave a comment.

Today I have been clicking the "Next Blog" button at the top of the Blogger page, and cruising through a ton of blogs on blogcatalog.com. One of the things I have been noticing is, there are a ton of blogs dedicated to modern liberalism that have no posts on them after December 2008. As if all their protestations and woes would suddenly be solved by the election of Obama.

I find it funny that a lot of their blog posts lashed out against the imperial presidency of Bush. I guess when your side "wins" you feel like all those arguments are no longer valid because the government is now on your side. This is the main problem with democracy. It is mob rule. 50.1% of the people get to rule over the other 49.9%. No one ever stops to think about that when their party is in power, they only see the drawbacks in the system when the other party is in control.

The only solution to this is to scale back the size of government to its Constitutional limits and return to a Republican Democracy. The liberals and the neo-cons just can't see the forest for the trees. As George Washington said, “Government is not reason. It is not eloquence. Government is force; like fire it is a dangerous servant -- and a fearful master.” Liberals and Neo-Cons alike should be wary of the power they vote for in government. All it takes is one election cycle, and a new government could turn that newfound power against them.

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Emails From My Uncle

2010-02-14T06:33:00.000-06:00

The Last Nickel

A father walks into a restaurant with his young son. He gives the young boy 3 nickels to play with to keep him occupied. Suddenly, the boy starts choking, going blue in the face. The father realizes the boy has swallowed the nickels and starts slapping him on the back. The boy coughs up 2 of the nickels, but keeps choking. Looking at his son, the father is panicking, shouting for help.

A well dressed, attractive and serious looking woman in a blue business suit is sitting at the coffee bar reading a newspaper and sipping a cup of coffee. At the sound of the commotion, she looks up, puts her coffee cup down, neatly folds the newspaper and places it on the counter, gets up from her seat and makes her way, unhurried, across the restaurant.

Reaching the boy, the woman carefully drops his pants, takes hold of the boy's testicles and starts to squeeze and twist, gently at first and then ever so firmly. After a few seconds the boy convulses violently and coughs up the last nickel, which the woman deftly catches in her free hand. Releasing the boy's testicles, the woman hands the nickel to the father and walks back to her seat at the coffee bar without saying a word.

As soon as he is sure that his son has suffered no ill effects, the Father rushes over to the woman and starts thanking her saying, "I've never seen anybody do anything like that before, it was fantastic. Are you a doctor?"

"No", the woman replied. "I'm with the IRS."

Update (New Formatting)

2010-02-13T15:40:00.000-06:00

For those of you who blog on Google like I do, you may have noticed an option for "Blogger in Draft." This is a tool that allows you to see new upcoming features that Google is coming out with for Blogger. I have been playing around with it quite a bit, and have made some changes. I am putting pages at the top of the blog so you can navigate and find posts easier. This will allow me to free up some space on the side margin. I have way too much stuff over there.

I am trying to put the pages up now, but will leave the stuff in the side margin there for a couple days to make sure nothing gets screwed up.

If any fellow bloggers have any recommendations for me, please comment on this post, or if you don't blog but like the new layout and feel the need to kiss my ass a little bit, I will accept your comments too. I want to make my blog as user friendly as possible!

See you at Galt's Gulch!

Quote of the Week

2010-02-13T12:22:00.000-06:00

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

Secessionism ≠ Racism

2010-02-13T10:30:00.001-06:00

This video really hits the nail on the head. I sometimes level the term socialist or statist at members of the Democratic Party, but that term is not exclusive to Democrats alone. I have said the same of misinformed or misrepresented Republicans too. But I feel these accusations are valid. It goes overboard is when those on the right or the libertarian top accuse big government types of being Marxist.

In the same way, the uber-left has used accusations of institutional racism to discredit any mention of the 10th Amendment, Nullification, or Secession. This is the state of the media today. If it is not sensationalized and overdone to the nth degree, people don't want to hear it. This plays to the themes of propaganda that I have been talking about recently on the blog.

I think both sides of the isle could learn much from keeping their accusations to themselves, and actually listening to the constitutionality of what is being proposed. When you take everything back to the Constitution, liberty prevails!

Further Reading
The Untold History of Nullification: Resisting Slavery