Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit Of Happiness
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010Author Linda Brady Traynham
The idea behind the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights was to secure to citizens the blessings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness by way of the sanctity of private property and the least possible foreign government. The same is true of the Constitutions of individual states: the purpose is to keep dogooders, busybodies, and thugs from running amok and preventing the rest of us from pursuing happiness in our individual ways. There are certain activities which civilized men hold should be prevented or punished, including rape, murder, arson, burglary, and breach of contract. Other than those, we don’t really need very much.
“But Mrs. Traynham, what about a Bureau of Weights & Measures?” This is a pretty stupid straw man, but the world is full of stupid people and even more ignorant ones. Of what good are standardized weights and measures if no one pays any attention to them? We agreed centuries ago that a yard was the length from the king’s nose to his fingertips, and an inch was the length of the first joint of his knuckle, and how the first turned out to be precisely 36 of the second I have no idea. Be that as it may, we adopted a system that has sixteen ounces to the pound and sixteen ounces to the quart, leading to the misleading statement “The pint’s a pound the world around.”
However, our current problem is that in the never ending rounds of raise prices, lower quality, lower quantity, repeat, we have come to the ludicrous position where a “quart” of mayonnaise is now 30 ounces, not 32, and a “pound” package of sausage is 14 ounces, while a “pound” carton of bacon actually contains only three-quarters of a pound. It is amazing how much more “settling” of contents occurs in packages, now, but in all instances we have to keep our eyes open for things that just don’t “look” right, and never mind that we still think of the container as a three-pound coffee can. In theory that should hold 48 ounces of coffee, but it doesn’t and has not for a very long time. A “five pound bag” of sugar shrank mysteriously to only four pounds, while the price quadrupled, doubtless the work of malignant elves because the government assures us there is no inflation…at least, so long as they do not include food and energy costs in their calculations. (Even that isn’t true.)
Nobody guaranteed us the attainment of happiness, only that we be allowed to pursue it in our individual ways so long as those did not include such detriments to the happiness of others as highway robbery, mugging, and counterfeiting money. The trick there used to be to decide what would make one happy and to work to get whatever it was. (I do love nice, simple, workable conclusions.) I know what it takes to make me happy, but the government has grown so onerous and o’erweening that I can’t do many of them any more. For a simple example, even with extra magnification in my reading glasses my vision is poor enough to require a 250-watt 3-way bulb to ensure that I can read the print on my screen or in my current book with ease. That has always been fairly simple to accomplish: go to the store, give the people about $2.59 plus tax, and take my precious artificial light source home and read the night away. The government, in its infinite belief in junk science has thrown a hitch in this practice by making it illegal to sell me incandescent lightbulbs on the theory that fluourescent bulbs provide more light for less energy. I like to save money as much as anyone and more than most, but not at the cost of not getting what I want. The funny little twisted bulbs in packages that assure me they put out the equivalent of 60 watts may do so (although my eyes do not agree), but have you tried recently to find a lamp that contains four sockets? Am I supposed to hang a chandelier over my bed, my end of the love seat, and my computer? Congress doesn’t care how I solve my problem or even if I solve my problem, so long as it can dictate what sort of light source I use.
Much of my happiness is predicated on the ludicrous theory that my property is mine. Once again, this seems like a pretty simple concept, and it works if we are talking about bananas, bath towels, or bottle rockets. Well, uh, no, not bottle rockets, because those have been outlawed on the theory that I might hurt mself with them. The real point is that my house and land are mine only so long as I pay Danegeld yearly for them. If I omit to do so, the Sheriff will confiscate my house and acres and sell them for a ridiculously low sum to satisfy back taxes. I’m feeling Jeffersonian…”If a man be not secure in his dwelling plafe…” Worse than that, there is no limit to how high or how frequently such taxes can be raised, as the owners of great plantations (and lesser holdings) learned in the retribution following the War for Southern Independence. In the ensuing 150 years keen minds have come up with other ways to confiscate our property, including, but not limited to, the claim that drugs are grown, located, or sold thereupon, very loose definitions of eminent domain, and claims that the land contains some sacred beetle, other insect, bird, turtle, or spring. Your car is yours to drive only so long as you get the proper “stamps” and insurance coverage and inspections every years. You may still own it, most places, but don’t try to drive it until the Stamp Act is overturned again.
There was a time when the County Extension Agent was a genuinely helpful man with an office full of useful pamphlets, but these days the Department of Agriculture sends me two folded green sheet of paper monthly telling me what I am not allowed to do with my land, e.g., plow a field that has never been plowed before or cut trees without an environmental impact study or grow peanuts. WHY can’t I grow peanuts? Because I must have a permit. Why? Nobody knows, other than the obvious answer that it would upset Skippy and Jif if I started making my own peanut butter. How can I get a peanut license? I can attempt to find a grower of vast acres of peanuts and attempt to induce him to sell me a portion of his allotment. Oh, and the peanuts. Seed peanuts are dyed fuchsia, these days so that they aren’t sold by accident, just as “farm” diesel is dyed red so that inspectors can be paid to check my exhaust pipes to be certain that I have not used any of the partially-tax-free fuel for road use. Never mind that this means I have to have one truck which can be used to go to the feed store and the vet and another that uses fuel for agricultural purposes only. If I don’t like this, or can’t afford two trucks, I can pay full taxes on all the petrol I use.
I can’t help thinking that Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams would have disapproved of such goings on vehemently. I am quite certain they did not intend for me to have to obtain permission to build or repair almost anything. They lived in a halcyon age where neighbors helped raise barns and nobody babbled about “codes” and “inspections.”
All of these infringe upon my liberty, as well. They impede my ability to be as nearly self-sufficient as possible, one of my goals subsumed under “the pursuit of happiness.” More and more, though, many of us fear that it is our literal liberty that is under attack, as more and more loopholes are created which will make it possible to arrest (or shoot), incarcerate, and hold incommunicado anyone deemed an “enemy of the state,” or a “domestic terrorist.” By the definitions of those writing the laws, rules, regulations, edicts, and presidential signings. Mr. Obama has, rumor says, written such a document so far out of line with traditional American assurances of basic rights that no one will be allowed to see it until it is foisted upon the population along with curfews and rounding up dissidents such as I. How do they know I’m a dissident? Profiling, of course, which is perfectly legitimate when applied to those who cling bitterly to guns and religion, listen to talk radio, attend TEA parties, wear bluejeans, and write articles like this. You may not have read a recent article where I mentioned that for the past three years I have had veiled warnings because friends and neighbors have been questioned about my activities and visitors and men in white vans have been seen photographing my home from nearly half a mile away. Mildew Manor is not at all that interesting, and neither are my activities. I don’t even listen to Rush or Beck. I have held off suggesting that you might want to do a bit of browsing on infowars and find out who Alex Jones is, but it couldn’t hurt. Well, unless the contents of your hard drive are to be held against you…
It is a very small step from mass roundups to mass executions. In fewer than a hundred years nation after nation has outlawed and confiscated guns and then exterminated some class or ethnicity or another. The total, to date, is some 56,000,000 people. You read that right: fifty-six million people. In a world where being Jewish, or Christian, or educated can be held to be a valid cause for eradication just why couldn’t it happen to us? I sit at this moment less than a hundred miles away from where a real religious nut was charged with a “gun crime” that carried a fine of $250. He could have been arrested easily ‘most any day when he went into town, but Operation Showboat, under the command of Janet Reno, was conceived as a way to take attention away from one of Bill Clinton’s scandals. No, of course I don’t remember which among so many, which reminds me I need to write a piece entitled “Like Master, Like Man” about Al Gore. The BATF, FBI, and so forth didn’t even get slaps on the wrists for incinerating a pile of adults and children. I would think “freedom of religion” means “freedom to worship as one pleases,” and if those people were happy with how they did it, it was no legitimate concern of the government’s. Truly, one man’s home and church can become a dictatorial government’s “compound” at whim.
As the boys said back when, the difference between being a “citizen” and a “subject” is the ability to defend one’s self against the King’s forces, and it doesn’t matter what the king calls himself or what excuses are given for the usurpation of rights.
Rueful chuckle. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you how much simpler and more rewarding (in many ways) life was back in 1955. I can’t remember an instance where there wasn’t someone who was authorized to set aside a rule if there were good reason to do so. No one had ever heard of the EPA or Endangered Species, low flush toilets or head rests in cars, the wildly over-blown dangers of asbestos, or outlawing the ten commandments and wishing someone Merry Christmas. This was a much nicer place to live when there were fewer than half as many people and far, far, far fewer than half as many laws, rules, regulations, forms, boards, inspectors, and committees. JFK was considered a flaming Liberal, and today his thoughts would pass for moderately conservative.
I don’t know what your idea of happiness is, far less whether or not you will be able to attain it, but just in case give a little more thought to the issues of life and liberty.
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Dave says:
July 7th, 2010
5:24 am
Damn it. Now I HAVE to grow some peanuts too.
Steve Foste says:
July 7th, 2010
5:24 am
I was talking to my dear Mom this weekend 79 now about you know what, Poitics and prepping, and I suggested to her that my kids and others think I am crazy, just an old fool. Hey I’m only 56. She commented about Her dad, a successful farmer- “We had a very good life but Dad was always so Grumpy, but he was grumpy because he had seen the hard times and was always looking out for the repeat of those hard times. They came again when I was 18 and the farm went bust.
But those were the happiest times of our lives, of couse I was a kid. What made them happy? The family values, church, and the small community. There were 4 families there. My Grand parents and 2 sons and a daughter. Those families now another generation and starting what would be a 4th generation form my grandparent. They are scatterd from Texas to Colorado, to California, and Washington. We are no longer close and supportive and have all had to eke out individual existences.
I personally have not given up these values of family and continue to fight to keep my immediate family close, and explain to my children the value of family. Hey in these tough times you can’t rely on friends and your boss and the government. The only ones who will be there for you in times of trouble are family.
So my pursuit of happiness, we’ll it is to prepare for the future as best I can and find that piece of property that I can really live life on, old fashioned values and skills in a high tech world and a safe haven destination point for my family. A small community where the neighbor at least says hello, a coffee shop where we can have heated discussions, and a church to reintroduce me to my Christian base that has been on a shelf for a couple of years.(We all have challenges from time to time).
I may be stuck in the nostalgia of the 50’s, but hey it makes me happy,maybe a bit Idealogical, but it is my ideal.
Thats life for me, that is my pursit of happiness, Liberty? I suppose I will be as free a society will allow without being shot or incarcerated, looted, raped, or pillaged.
Steve
Steve Foste says:
July 7th, 2010
5:27 am
So who is going to grow the Tobacco. I’m sure you would need a permit for such a vile drug.
Cheri says:
July 7th, 2010
7:53 am
I have started this post over and over. Mostly I come up with some version of “yeah, what she said…”
The permanent cloud cover came the day Obama won the democratic primary. The people who voted for him were excited because they were sure the people and politics they disdained would get it stuck to them. It never occurred to them that they would be stuck too. Granted US economics were on a destruction course already with all the bubbles and lack of ethical behavior at so many levels.
Obama won and aware people instinctively knew nothing good could come of it and started prepping for REAL! We were told to give him a chance. He believed Government could fix life. Government could undo the inherent unfairness of existence and past mistakes. Now he has made a few massive mistakes, Obamacare, the Gulf and foreign policy.
Light bulbs, food, activities, religion, internet, social networking, where does it end? National lights out at 10:00PM? More people are becoming aware that government isn’t the answer and that they need to put on their big girl and boy pants and take care of themselves!
Linda, at least you “have known better”. Keep talking about how it was and how it should be. I remember hearing stories about how immigrants were told America was the land of milk and honey and when they got here they found it was filled with hard work, as though they “deserved” something different just for coming here.
Texan independence makes me hopeful. I know my own state, CA, is dying and much like an alcoholic in denial, hasn’t will to change.
It is not my happiness which I am pursuing now, but that of my children. Which of course would lead to my happiness. : )
Cheri
James the Wanderer says:
July 7th, 2010
9:58 am
Yes indeed, Texas Lady. Once the Federales start getting paid in worthless greenback scrip, things will REALLY start getting unpleasant.
I think 48 states (the exceptions being Montana and N.D.?) are losing the battle of the budget, and I doubt there are enough Federales to police / control / conquer all 50 states, once things are sliding down the scale towards Really Ugly. We will live in interesting times, so prepare now to preserve something worth having for later (after Obama).
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. So simple, and so hard to keep.
Hug a goat for me!
james
Kurt says:
July 7th, 2010
10:24 am
Ya know, it’s not a big step from confiscating your weapons, to confiscating your food stocks, home, business, farm, computers, or kids. People say that the government can have their guns when they can pry their cold dead fingers from around it, or after they run out of ammo, or……. But how well is that actually going to go when(not if) they show up in flak jackets, helmets, and armored personnel carriers, carrying automatic weapons and sniper rifles? At that point, unless you have a supply of anti tank rockets, your only 3 choices left are escape and evasion, surrender and service, or wasteful death. If seen coming, the time to do something about the loss of liberty is before, not after.
CheriVNB says:
July 7th, 2010
11:17 am
Kurt,
The stench. Where to put all the rotting bodies and someone to do it? Besides bullying is so much more fun.
Cheri
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 7th, 2010
1:59 pm
David! You heard my call, and answered, and I hear yours. Let the revolution begin! Let the others have their TEA parties (and more power to them), but our defiance shall be burying peanuts. Each one plant one.
I love it.
It doesn’t matter how many we plant. It doesn’t matter if none of them sprout, grow, or reproduce. All that matters is defying William the Bastard and the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Let us plant them (peanuts, not long-dead politicians) in the ditches, in ornamental pots, in our gardens, and in our hearts. Gentlemen, raise your glasses to the Peanut Revolution.
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 7th, 2010
2:01 pm
Beautiful, Steve. Thank you. LBT
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 7th, 2010
2:04 pm
Actually, you can grow something like five acres of tobacco without a permit. Seeds available from e-Bay, nice fellow in Canada there has many varieties and sends instructions. It may take us a while to learn to cure properly, and I can’t find any solution to the menthol, which is what I think I smoke for.
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 7th, 2010
2:19 pm
Yeah, what Cheri said. Thanks for enjoying glimpses of my youth, and encourage your older family members to talk about the depression and the war–and then share with all of us please.
Here’s one to make your children gawp: I got my driver’s license at age twelve. Yes, 12. Back then, in theory you had to be 14 to get your beginner’s permit. (I guess we were a lot more responsible and coordinated, then, not having video games.) We had a private telephone line that was shorted out at least as frequently as it worked. Yes, private, as in “erected ourselves and hooked in to Ma Bell a couple of miles away.” One of Daddy’s close friends was a Judge, and I sold them on the theory that it was possible that some day there could be an accident (or a fire) when there was no unincapacitated adult on the place, and that it would be very dangerous if I had to catch and saddle a horse and ride over seven miles to the nearest telephone which could be relied upon the work. This is Linda the Practically Perfect and Responsible, of course, and they bought it, the Judge wrote me a letter or something, and the DOT tested my knowledge of the driving laws of the State of Texas and calmly issued me a license. Perfect scores, of course.
The follow up is even better, I think: the pair of them lectured me so sternly on the responsibilities and privileges of driving (and what would happen to me if I broke a single rule) that 58 years later I have never had so much as a parking ticket! Well, okay, so once in a while I guess I was lucky, but like the Deputy said when he pulled into my driveway about ‘90, “Ma’am, I have followed you for 15 miles on the highway and through city traffic and I just had to tell you that you are the best, safest, and most courteous and responsible driver I have ever seen!” I appreciated it, once my heartbeat returned to normal.
I WORK at being a good driver and obeying the laws. My children laughed at me because if I ran down the mountain to Wal*Mart at midnight I would stop at all three stop signs. Those signs don’t say “Stop if you see a cop.” They don’t say “Stop if you see lights.” They just say “Stop.” Similarly, the numbers by the side of the road do not say “Go with the flow of the traffic.” They say, “Do not exceed 30, 45, or 70 miles per hour,” whatever.
Gee, do you suppose they were on to something? If we both encourage and demand responsible behavior, perhaps we will get it?
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 7th, 2010
2:32 pm
James, dear, come hug your own goats and me, too. Chuckle…for me “the pursuit of happiness” definitely includes goats. They are so funny, endearing, and affectionate. We have only to go out the door for the nearest goats to come up immediately to see what we’re doing, following us around like dogs that don’t jump up or bark. They love people in general, but they have their favorites, too! Evita adores Charles, who always fed her her bottle. She “grooms” him, nibbles his shirt sleeve (always the right one) playfully, and they have a game wherein she pretends to be just lying there for the joy of being near him, and bides her time until she can untie his shoelaces. Her favorite shirt is yellow, and she doesn’t like it when he wears long sleeves because she can’t clean up his elbows for him. No, I don’t know why Evita thinks elbows need licking, perhaps because hers do?
Goats are joy, food, neat fertilizer that doesn’t smell, and about the size (does, that is) of fairly large dogs with long legs. They wag their tails when they are happy. That’s the good news.
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 7th, 2010
2:47 pm
James…time and again conquerors have demonstrated how quickly most of any population will roll over if you yank every tenth man out of line and kill him, thus “decimating” the group. Shooting into crowds tends to be quite effective. Another 80,000 troops were trained in “crowd control” and armed with devices which include agonizing sound and caustic chemicals recently. There are enough of just that group to close every freeway exit in every city in America that has a loop or ring, thus cordoning them off. Yes, there are always the few who will fight, but this time the government will have all the big weapons, all the serious communications, control of the money, the skies, and the interstates…and the ability to insert tracking devices into our bodies. Those are already in our cars, many of our clothes, cell ‘phones, credit cards, driver’s licenses and other ID cards, and so forth. All of those cameras that sprang up at intersections aren’t really there to catch those who run red lights or speed; they can be used to track or locate any vehicle.
BOTH sides will have to contend with the welfare group infuriated over cuts in largesse, gangs, Muslims, the professional lawbreakers, and illegal aliens. Some people think any excuse to riot is a great one.
Some days I fear we preppers are living in a dream world. If you shop at Sam’s or anywhere else that uses an ID card your purchases are on record. Everybody and his pet pig knows I have cattle, goats, pigs, and chickens here to be confiscated. If the worst happens we will be able to trust no one other than family (real or adopted for the duration) and not even them, always.
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 7th, 2010
3:03 pm
Absolutely right, Kurt, the best course is to be elsewhere if it all goes bad. In some ways, you may fare better than I if you recognize the problem in time and have the courage to get up and GO, including telling your family ahead of time that you WILL leave and they can either be with you or not.
I keep telling all of you not to worry about money. Yes, you feel you don’t have enough, and you fret that you didn’t start storing in time, but if you have a destination in mind and get there with what you need for a month or six weeks you should live to start over.
Yes, I plan (but have not implemented) ways to get the most dense of the supplies, the livestock, and people away if the country is overrun by starving townies, but in a very real sense I am tied to my operation. If we have to run for it, I have to accept that everything left behind will be destroyed, stolen, or consumed. We may well come back to a smoking ruin, which means all of the tools and building supplies must be taken with us or cached where they are unlikely to be found. If I cannot stand and defend what is ours–and I can envision easily circumstances under which that would be suicide–years of work and a great deal of money will be consumed by others.
Stick to the basics, dear friends: a destination, a plan to get there, alternative rendezvous and communications plans (including a note in a knothole), basic food supplies and defense needs. I am far better prepared to survive the Greater Depression than I am to get through chaos, “insurrection,” martial law, and other violent times. Not for lack of trying, but because so many will be arrayed against us. Depressing, isn’t it?
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 7th, 2010
3:04 pm
Cheri, you adorable nut! Our thoughtful government has already stockpiled an enormous number of sealable plastic coffins. I guess some of the great big high-mil builders bags and plenty of good rubber gloves?
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 7th, 2010
3:06 pm
Very old technology and methods of warfare may be used, too. Sure, it is easy to turn off the water and power quicklly in a city, but a few dead animals thrown in reservoirs are something almost anyone with a .22 rifle could accomplish.
Cheri says:
July 7th, 2010
3:14 pm
Linda,
Both of my parents have passed, and all of my grandparents. Oldest cousin on my Mom’s side is gone too. Probably why I feel so responsible. No generation ahead of me to turn to.
Congrats on the license at 12, quite an accomplishment. My older sister got caught sneaking out with the car at 12, but that is a whole ‘nother matter. I got my first job at 12, helping teach swimming lessons at the elemtary school. Rode my bike 3 miles everyday even in the 100 plus degree summer sun. Got paid $1.75 and hour. Simpler times for sure. When we were 10 or so we used to walk the 2 miles to the closest store because not everybody had bikes, to turn in pop bottles and buy candy. I never even let my kids entertain that idea!
Cheri
Steve Foste says:
July 7th, 2010
4:28 pm
Cheri,
Isn’t that so sad. I wouldn’t even let my Kid’s entertaing that Idea!
That one comment sums up the entire discussion, it covers all the issues, it states catagorically everything we are discussing and the state of the nation what it has become and where it is headed.
Steve
Steve Foste says:
July 7th, 2010
4:58 pm
Liberty,
I am making and application to a mortgage company to see about qualifying for a property loan.
Check out this requirement.
Please provide three months of statements for all assets to be claimed on the Loan Application. These inclue checking, savings, CD’s, 401k, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. PLEASE SEND EVERY PAGE OF THE BANK/ASSET STATEMENTS.
– The Patriot Act requires this info.
This is a legitament mortgage company, not the fly by nighters, Churchhill Mortgage if you wish to look them up. Refered by Dave Ramsey, if you don’t know Dave Ramsey check him out on Google.
THE PATRIOT ACT? Didn’t Pres. Obama claim he would not renew the legislation?
Guess they needed it for the search and seizure at the airport, absoulutly unconstitutional but!
I hate flying, and I use to love it.
I will only claim savings and checking.
Steve
Desertrat says:
July 7th, 2010
6:46 pm
The silly unPatriotic Act is even in the middle of the paperwork of buying a car, fer cryin’ out loud! Funny. A bunch of liberal types at a website were hollering about the evil Republicans and the evil Patriot Act–but started singing small when I pointed out that since January of 2007 the Democrats hadn’t done diddly-boo to change it any.
Like Brother Dave Gardner said, back around 1958 or so, “Hey, they’re all in it together–against us.”
Unless I’m going to visit my son in Germany, I refuse to fly. I will not subject myself to the humiliations of the TSA. And, odds, are, I might just go by ship.
The cost is little different, and Lord knows I have the time.
Stipulating a loss of the House by the Democrats come November, much of the Obamination’s garbage could be rendered ineffective by the House Appropriations Committee not appropriating. That would leave us only with this miserable bankrupt condition we’re in, which in many ways is worse than the socialistic nonsense. More negative social effects on the bottom strata of the economic pyramid.
Desertrat says:
July 7th, 2010
6:53 pm
Enough of this gloom’n'doom! Lighten your mood!
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=43964&highlight=LawDog+Files+Definitive
Kurt says:
July 7th, 2010
9:41 pm
Cheri, think Hitler worried about rotting bodies? He still bullied. So did Stalin, and a certain Chinese leader named Mao. Think he was the world record holder with 50 million dead to his name. As long as they have slaves, they don’t care. The slaves can do the hard work of disposing of dead bodies. In their minds, dead bodies make good examples to keep the rest of the population docile. Certain recent leaders used to stack skulls of the slain in view of the public to get their point across. And armed Americans are dangerous to their cause. Hmmmmm kill a few million as examples, or let them live and stir up trouble? Not a tough choice for them to make. Many of them subscribe to the idea that the population of the US needs to be thinned out 50% anyways, too many mouths to feed, too many people emitting carbon dioxide pollution. In fact, some of the more radical are saying that the worlds population needs to be forced back to 500 million or less. Wonder what kind of force they have in mind to do it? Think I’m full of it? Google the terms “Georgia Guidestones” or “American Stonehenge” and do some reading. They have it carved into stone, literally, on a monument, for the world to read. Some are more honest about what they intend, but are largely overlooked my the media, while others try to put forth a benign facade. All of them hide their identities from most of the public. But do the math and ask, how many need to disappear from almost 7 billion to reach that goal of a half billion people left on planet Earth? Then ask yourself which 500 million they intend to survive, you and your family, or Al Gory, and Billery Clintoon?
Desertrat says:
July 8th, 2010
4:02 am
To me, the rather odd part of this “Reduce the population!” group is that they seem to be among the least prepared or qualified to survive without the support of those whom they despise. The “Elite” have no use for the people of “flyover country”, yet they’d starve without them.
Odd what you can find in the MSM: http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/media/wall-street-apocalypse-finances-doom-and-gloom-crowd/19506748/
Note that the writer considers the Galt’s Gulch Group to be villains.
PeterPansDad says:
July 8th, 2010
7:43 am
I second Cheri’s “Yeah, what she said.”
“Actually, you can grow something like five acres of tobacco without a permit.” Dad has been talking about growing Tobacco and Cotton in the heart of Corn and bean Illinois. We should be able to avoid Monsanto gene contamination and have seed strains of value.
“I WORK at being a good driver and obeying the laws.”
That’s the way. Blend in. Act normal.
You named a goat Evita? Would be funnier name on an old sow.
“Stick to the basics, dear friends: a destination, a plan to get there, alternative rendezvous and communications plans (including a note in a knothole), basic food supplies and defense needs.”
Can I add to this list? Fill your head.
Step 1. Sell your TV.
Step 2. Read/study the original boy scout manual.
Step 3. Memorize things to entertain yourself and others with.
Step 4. Learn to talk to people.
Step 5. Read, read, read!
Plans don’t always work out. Be ready to improvise. Also, get in shape. How many 300# men are going to survive walking 30 miles with a 50# bug out bag? Let’s not find out.
Cheri says:
July 8th, 2010
8:18 am
Kurt,
Duh. Still 6.5 billion bodies will stink, foul the water or fill the skies with putrid smoke. Hitler had the crematoriums, with more in the works. My point was not that they won’t, but that there are logistics. Will it happen all at once? (major disasters) Or over decades? (Mystery illnesses, infertility?) I have no illusions about where me and mine would be on the list. When I am feeling mean and have to listen to people talk about over population, I like to ask “Who do you think they are going to eliminate first? Those that are productive or those that aren’t? Those that use up resources or those that can get by on less?” The look on their faces tells it all.
When you think about it is kinda cute how a little boy from Kenya can grow up to be the leader of the “Free World”. He didn’t spend his formative years here. (Indonesia?) Just shows the power of myth in American culture.
I am with ‘Rat, we need to lighten up! The sun is shining today. Life is in you today. Make the best of it!
Cheri
Oldmanriver says:
July 8th, 2010
9:52 am
Cheri,
You are exactly right in thinking about the logistics of something like that. Im still not exactly sure what is to be gained by rounding people up? Sure you have power over them but now what? You have to house and feed all these people. Whatever you are gaining had better be worth it. Even if you kill them all its still a mass undertaking. The number of people that would have to be involved in something like that is huge. No way you could have that many people keep something like that a secret. Just go read Tex’s description of working for the census, now imagine that same system rounding up citizens and confiscating all their food. Government is either compltetely inept or completely competent. It cant be both at the same time. The same system that is managing things now is going to be managing this round up and confiscation of goods. That almost makes me laugh. I have had expirience with the military…Thats where I also became familiar with the term charlie foxtrot, which is what things were most of the time. We cant even control a population in 3rd world countries. How is this supposed super competent, capable of all kinds of atrocities buracracy going to round up a population of 300 million people, exterminate a good portion of them and confiscate all their goods to be redistributed to whomever is in charge/left. Once you have done this what is the plan, how are you going to operate the economy? The whole point of being a dictator is that everyone has to do what you say, but you still need them regardless. If everyone is gone then whats the point of being a dictator?
Lynne says:
July 8th, 2010
9:22 pm
The government needs people to be working and productive. If only to maintain a base in which to tax or products to use. You can’t simply round up 300 million people 240 million who are armed and plop them in the middle of nowhere without a huge cost. I’m not saying it can’t be done just that the logistical costs are huge.
We have 15-20 million folks unemployed or under employed. Probably another 20-30 million working under the table and look what a huge drag on the economy that has caused. Now let’s take Linda’s idea of decimation into account just round it to an additional 50 million either dead or imprisoned. So approx. 1/3 of total population is dead or not working, or working under the table now of which adds to the economy or but not to the treasury. I’m not saying the PTB’s (Powers That Be) won’t try it, but it’s unsustainable. It may take time but it will always collapse. Government is a cost, not a means of production.
Zimbabwe has gone to the US dollar is an officially recognized currency. I read a story of a new industry there; that washes US dollars and keeps them circulating. Real money laundering for the common good. No one told them to do it. They saw a need and filled it.
Americans aren’t special we just had similar ideas of right and wrong and very wise men who set up a frame work that made a “Virtue of our vices”.
I can just imagine how news plays around the World when we speak of an “Obesity problem”. But of course we still need Food stamps and School breakfast and lunch programs. If we don’t support them kids and parent will be “Dumpster Diving”.
All in all the world isn’t to bad of place. We haven’t all died from “global cooling or warming”. Populations have stabilized, We usually have enough food and fuel unless governments intervene with wars or ethnic cleansing, marxist/socialist agendas. In the good ole USA even our poor are “rich” by world standards. I’m considered just barely above “poverty level” and I have Satellite TV, a PC and broadband internet, I’m buying a home, I have a car an RV and boat. Not new but good enough for me. I have central heating and air conditioning. Some of those things I got help with from my Mom and Dad, some I traded for after I got handicapped. It was tough trading my Harley for the boat.
I have 18 months of food, 2 pistols and a shotgun plus ammo, a garden, fruit trees, eggs from my Mom and bunnies for protein. Lots of books and the are free at the library as well as music and movies. I am rich!! Plus I get to make good friends via the internet all around the world, and talk real time if I choose.
I know I forget to count my blessings. I think sometimes it easy to fall into that pessimistic mindset. It takes a little work to stay positive and say “OK, it sucks right now”. How do I make the best of a bad situation? Read the personal histories of folks that dealt with “Major disasters” Krakatoa or famines and wars.
Will Rogers said that anytime a politician feels the world was weighing on his shoulders some fly would come along and knock that weight off. We can survive any one man or any one party. We just need to get back to basics. We have good rules, we just need to follow them. Use the KISS system Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Lynne says:
July 8th, 2010
11:29 pm
C’mon folks DC and the coasts are screwed. I think we have always knew that. You want grains? damn they only exist in flyover country. You want animal protein? See the above. We are not weak we are strong.
Can I live without power, food distribution, a short term shortage of sanitation? Yeah I got that as well. I’m sure everyone on the coasts are used to eating well. We’ll see how all those green initiatives work out. I’m sure the folks in N.D, will be very understanding about that whole flooding problem you didn’t give a damn about. They will probably sell you food. Now the folks in Tennessee may not be so understanding. That whole “Gulf Coast” bugaboo. May be a bit more difficult to play in the media but he has them in his back pocket. Obama reports and they get inline.
Nice “free press” and they wonder why they lose shares and ad revenue? 52 minutes on Lindsy Lohan and less than 8 minutes on the DOJ and the New Black Panthers. Brilliant strategy, that will get FOX news, promote puff pieces on irrelevant celebrities.
Desertrat says:
July 10th, 2010
11:30 am
Today’s article by Gary North at the Lew Rockwell site seems pertinent to this thread:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north863.html
And it ties back to my comment about meeting the enemy…
VJ says:
July 10th, 2010
2:19 pm
Thanks, Desertrat. That was one of the best “what to do” articles I have ever read. EVERYONE, please go and read the lewrockwell article!!!
Lynne says:
July 11th, 2010
12:42 am
Take some positive action for yourself, if not the country. Store a bit of food and fuel. Get a gun, if not get a way of protedting yourself and your family. Refuse to be a victim, dammit you are Americans. Read the founding documents. Read about our history, no we aren’t perfect but get informed. Get smart, learn new stuff. Stretch your mind, debate, ask questions. Even God requires you to ask question. “Seek and you shall find.” Old TJ said “Question the very existence of God”. You will get an answer. Questions are how we find stuff out. How can that be bad? The begining of knowledge is “I don’t know?” But I want to.
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 11th, 2010
5:29 pm
Cheri & Steve: Nice exchange, says a lot. We were talking last night about how Little League isn’t anything like the fun kids had in our era (slightly after the Early Pleistocene) just playing anywhere there was room. No adults, no uniforms, no stress, just good grubby fun. Lie around all summer as teens? No, indeed, go get a job, and half goes into a savings account. I love telling people I picked cotton one summer, so long ago when whites didn’t DO that. I always had summer jobs at the University (Texas A&M) and this was a biological research process. Every morning we picked buds at a certain stage of numbered plants, put them in numbered envelopes, and went back to the lab to mash them up to go on numbered slides. I ruined a lot of clothes with the acid we used but it was fun. Such a cheerful, innocent time, in the late Fifties…
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 11th, 2010
5:31 pm
Steve, I’m with you on the flying. Only form of travel known to man that doesn’t cause motion sickness in me. You BELIEVED Obama?
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 11th, 2010
5:34 pm
Rat, sugar, I can handle the bad economy a lot better than I can the politics. Where is your son? I know Stuttgart, Heilbronn, Nurnberg, Bamberg, and Munich quite well. Or used to. Long ago, in another world…We’re finally starting the West expansion on the house and MDC and I inspect cows udders and rear ends every evening because the next round of calving begins sometime this week. Oh, what I would give for some brotchen, laberkaese, and real spatzle. Eat a big helping for me. Hug, L
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 11th, 2010
5:37 pm
VERY well done, Kurt. I’ve actually seen the speech at the UN where some female says they’re going to kill an enormous percentage of us, but “we’ll do it as kindly and gently as possible.” All heart, that bunch.
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 11th, 2010
5:39 pm
Rat, I adore you. Yes, we’re all cheering up. Ray Stevens has a bunch of new songs out, Obama based. I laughed delightedly over the comment about how the ones who talk of “the little people” and “flyover country” are the least capable of taking care of themselves. True, true, deliciously true. Even those in the ghettos have useful skills. You know…mugging, knifing, dealing drugs, pimping…
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 11th, 2010
5:49 pm
Preach on, Peter Pan’s Dad. You bet stack up on all sorts of survival guides and older books full of potentially very useful knowledge. We did 2-5 on your list all our lives and haven’t had a TV on in two years. Evita…well, we bottle fed her, then added twins a couple of weeks younger to the routine. It was in the dead of winter and Charles and I were fighting off bronchial pneumonia. In those circumstances, you don’t go to the barn or the goat shed every 6 hours to feed little goats. You barricade an area off (Hah!) NOTHING is goat proof. Every time you think you’ve got it they learn to jump, climb, bounce, or wriggle through, around, over, or under it. She pushed the littler ones aside (they caught up) and was known as “Evil” for a while. “STOP that, you little monster!” was a frequent saying. Lose your concentration for a minute and she was out eating mail or chewing books. In time, she became more reasonable and was renamed “Evita.” She is now our favorite of the young does! She still thinks she is entitled to come in the house. The male goats are all locked up to ensure no more December babies. Thunder thinks very poorly of the idea of no female companionship until around Christmas.
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 11th, 2010
5:53 pm
OMR…some people ENJOY killing and torturing others. Some are so arrogant and sure they are right they have no trouble clamping down hard on riots or just to make a point. WE know the would-be dictators need at least farmers, engineers, and manufacturers…but do THEY know it? Serfs, kuzaks, and peasants are far easier to handle. Mao and Stalin had no problem with 99% living in poverty and fear. There really are those who are not nice people.
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 11th, 2010
5:55 pm
Lynne, the only thing wrong with you is that you aren’t my neighbor. NICE article.
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 11th, 2010
6:03 pm
Lynne, with you on the produce and animal protein, too. Obama and Michelle eat Kobe beef four or five times a week. (Keeping up appearances, you know, and entertaining really important people like union thugs and rock groups.) I’m sure they haven’t a clue how long it takes to produce even a grass-fed steer, far less one who gets beer and massages every day. Oooh, we’ve got two that could go into the freezer any time from now on. We can all but see the little white dashed lines on their sleek black hides. We’ve got backups for every year afterwards. Hmmm…I know you can get around some. What about one of the pygmy goats? They can be milked, too, and they’re as cute as can be. If you had a mud room with a ramp, goats will come to food or affection…smile…I’ll bet most of us think from time to time about how we could get you more of what you want, and if I had to raise rabbits in cages in a spare bedroom, that’s what I’d do if I wanted rabbits. Gary’s pet is an elderly doe, Babette. On special occasions he hides Lucky Charms for her to find!
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 11th, 2010
6:04 pm
Rat & VJ, I read Gary North every day. Which article was it?
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 11th, 2010
6:09 pm
I took a quiz on the Constitution recently, and learned I didn’t know enough about which later amendment did what, not that I care, although I dislike making a 90%. That equalled what a long time history teacher did, at least. Humpff. Does it REALLY matter whether teen voting was 18 or something else? It was a stupid idea. Mutter, grumble. Nah…I don’t care enough to go sort ‘em out. I’m more worried about the first ten! Hugs to all, Linda
VJ says:
July 11th, 2010
10:15 pm
The article Desertrat linked to was “How to Fight Conspiracies and Win”. I think it is worth repeating the link.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north863.html
Again, thanks Desertrat, and I highly recommend everyone go and read this one.
Desertrat says:
July 12th, 2010
9:15 pm
My son’s in Bavaria, not far from where Austria, Switzerland and Germany come together. South of Munich a hundred miles and some. Out of the Islamic-problem areas. He finally gave up being a team manager in F1 motorcycle racing and sticks with his own shop, repairing and restoring. He’s built a good rep around Europe for the quality of his work. “Mr. LaVerda” of restorations. He gets invited to car shows, to bring some examples of his work.
Picking cotton? Summer of 1948, I picked cotton for 2¢ a pound. Hardest dollar a day I ever made. I lasted two days. Six years later, courtesy “Greetings from Ike”, I figured that Basic Training at Fort unBliss was a piece of cake by comparison.
However, Juarez was safer, then…
Lynne says:
July 13th, 2010
7:23 pm
I was stationed in Kitzegen my first tour about 14 mile S. of Wurtzeberg. 2nd tour I was stationined in Darmstadt but live in a small town of Felheim. Everyday I drove through the Odenwald and pass 3 castles. One of them was Frankenstein’s castle. I miss the beer!
PeterPansDad says:
July 14th, 2010
7:23 am
“What about one of the pygmy goats? They can be milked, too, and they’re as cute as can be.” And you can pick them up. And they won’t push or pull you around.
“…go get a job, and half goes into a savings account.” I wish kids were told this instead of “Go get an education, a car, a house, find happiness, hope for a job then pay for it all later.” Any job is better than no job. Any business of your own is better than any job, especially at 16.
Kurt says:
July 14th, 2010
1:46 pm
‘“…go get a job, and half goes into a savings account.” I wish kids were told this instead of “Go get an education, a car, a house, find happiness, hope for a job then pay for it all later.” Any job is better than no job. Any business of your own is better than any job, especially at 16.’
…Puts on best whiniest voice….
But, but, but, PPDDDDDDDDDDDD…… That’s not faaaaaiiiirrrrrrr!!!!!!!! They have their rights tooooooo!!!!! The rich should have to help, they don’t pay their fair share!
…..Whiny voice off…..
Think I gotta go puke after saying that. Even as sarcasm it leaves a vile taste in my mouth :p
Lynne says:
July 15th, 2010
2:36 pm
Linda, let’s face it Obama is a moron. A highly educated moron but a moron nonetheless. Would you trade one of your critters for all the Kobe beef in the world? Plus a little secret is it is not Kobe beef. It’s Idaho beef raised in the Japanese style. Japan does not export Kobe beef. Look it up, yes Obama is eating beef raised in one the most redneck, religious states in the nation. Cause you all “Know” what Idaho is like….. But then again I love irony.
I have a use for all that beer mash, I’ll take it down to Linda, that’s what all cows are eating in Japan. Kobe Beef feed, I could start a business. Well maybe with Mom’ chickens small scale.
Lynne says:
July 15th, 2010
5:28 pm
I have to prove my points on the ring to Mathemeticians and philosophy majors. Well I’m doing better than East Anglia. What was that Penn university that Michael Mann was at? Nice…
I know longer care what any one thinks about us in the MSM. I have a covered most sciences in the ring. Call me whatever, not a problem I have data.
Desertrat says:
July 15th, 2010
8:15 pm
“I know longer care what any one thinks about us in the MSM.”
I got disgusted with the MSM in August, 1966. I erred in making a few-sentence statement to a reporter at the Charles Whitman brouhaha. I just thank the Lord that my name was mispelled in the misquote.
I have since coined the term “Mediahcrities” for that claque.
Around 1990 I was westbound on I-10, west of Deming, New Mexico. I spotted a 1956 Ford Victoria on the eastbound side, with the hood up. A trucker came on the CB: “Well, they ain’t got better with age…”
Neither has the MSM.
PeterPansDad says:
July 16th, 2010
10:00 am
Kurt, whiny voices are not tolerated in this house. Maybe you need a nap. Sarcasm, however, is appreciated.
Grandpa never let go of his farm. He pushed his kids away. There was one job to do and one way to do it. One son died bitter. The other son moved to the city and stayed there. Most farm families can relate to this. There may also be a 65 year old son still working as a hired hand for his dad.
Our goal is to encourage our kids to stack enterprises of their own onto ours. This is primarily because I’m not good at letting go, but also because I want them to create something that is their own. I can think of dozens of on-farm operations that would create income for them and wouldn’t be in my way. In fact, they could help me a lot. I would like to have a band mill and a wood chipper but all I need are the chips and sawdust and occasionally some lumber. Mostly I want to babysit, home school and mentor my grandchildren.
Once the kids are properly inspired and have a vision of their own the next hurdle is overcoming regulations. It’s hard enough to wade through the regulations to market a dead bird. I can’t imagine if my kids designed a new car and tried to get it to market. Or if they (GASP!) tried to hire help. Maybe we should move somewhere that wants people to be employed and independent. Where is that again?
Kurt says:
July 16th, 2010
11:36 am
I think the places you are referring to are Latin America, China, India, etc. Shame too, would be nice if the US’s politicos would actually be in favor or putting people to work rather than in more regulation and taxes.
Reminded of a story that I heard a long time ago, so it must have happened decades ago. Don’t remember how it all goes, but seems that there was a company that was making something, forget what but might have been electricity. This company had waste products, including heat that was drawn off by water which was dumped into a holding tank. Somebody got the bight idea that this could be used to make even more money as the tanks were about the right temp year round for farming fish. Well, the fish waste lead to doing something else, which lead to something else, which lead to more yet. And because most of it was absorbing some sort of waste, it was far more cost efficient, and profitable.
Try something like that now days and watch the bureaucrats go nuts trying to see how fast they can shut it down over some infraction. But think of how much more efficient things could be run. Farms pressing their own produce for the oil, making bio diesel out of the oil which they sell through their own service station, feeding the remains to animals which could be butchered and sold as cuts of meats, or in their own high end eatery, their wastes being used to run a methane powered generator. Waste oil from the service station could be burned to heat the restaurant and barn. The leftovers from the restaurant could be fed into hogs in turn, and…… Well, I think you get my meaning. I’m sure there might be a few out there, but it would be mighty hard to get going in this present bureaucratic nightmare of an age.
It could also bring families closer together as well. It could help keep a few people employed, more self sufficient, and many would get a much broader exposure to how things really work: engineering, financial concepts, etc.
Brazil though, they already have the startings on such operations. Hmmmmm, who do you think will be the economic powerhouse in this century, the US, or Brazil? The US’s politicians are not interested in any of this though, they only care about staying in office, with the exception of a few which are purposely, knowingly, trying to destroy the country from the inside out.
Lynne says:
July 18th, 2010
6:54 pm
I’d hate to speak for all of the ring, but here goes… Whining, no sarcasm will be allowed. About the idiots in charge you must provide a solution to the mess. It doesn’t have to be a good solution as folks in Congress can attest. But it must be a solution that meets some basics of being intelligent or reduces the budget. Hell I may mock you but you are doing better than the US congress.
My goodness I stated the above and knew it would be an improvement of Congress.
Oldmanriver says:
July 19th, 2010
8:57 am
Peterpan’sDad
I have seen that a lot. A 60 year old man who is nothing more than a hired hand to a 90 year old man. Similar thing happened to my father. Grandpa was running the show and making some piss poor decisions his entire life. Basically he went with doing nothing because that was the cheapest route. He almost lost the farm for us, sure didnt do the farm as a business any favors. I hope there is a special place in hell for old men like that. I remember what he did to our family and Ill never forgive him. My father on the other hand allowed my brothers and I to make decisions and mistakes. The farm while not a cash cow is successful and will hopefully continue on another generation.
That is one reason children leave the farm. The older generation refuses to let go and so the son or daughter says to hell with it Ill go to town and make twice the money and have a normal life. I wont have to have this old man breathing down my neck questioning every dollar I spend and every choice I make. The older generation may mean well but they end up doing more damage than good. I always liked Val Farmer’s column in the Illinios Agrinews. He talked a lot about this and has a great website.
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 19th, 2010
11:10 am
Look at all the great mail! This is a “road day,” and then I’ll have to go “rah, rah” when I get back, and then it will be time to inspect all the animalcules, and eventually I’ll be back. Off the cuff, I think we can all whine occasionally if we need to and we can be sarcastic but not vicious about politics but never, ever, with each other. It’s a little rough, but it will probably work. Hugs, L
Linda Brady Traynham says:
July 21st, 2010
2:53 am
Dear Kurt: Nice post, as usual. Brazil has a lot of resources untapped…what’s the population? I suppose having been isolated partially all these centuries by speaking Portugese might help…That’s a definite problem with India and China: too many people. Got a surprise for all of you. Go to http://www.themeshreport.com!
Lynne says:
July 21st, 2010
12:14 pm
http://www.fastonline.org/CD3WD_40/CD3WD/INDEX.HTM
The above is a huge site for creating everything needed for a new start. From raising animals and food, to creating a school. Metal fabrication to solar power. I have a couple of friends that are looking to build the Solar ice maker.
So before you buy any books check out that site for info that has been tested in low tech parts of the world.
jlsim66 says:
July 27th, 2010
7:01 pm
C’mon folks, I know you are cocked,locked and ready to rock. Obama won’t save you, the state won’t save you. Of course I maybe wrong. If I am you still have food to eat. I still see this as a win win situation. I’ll be more than happy to be proven wrong. Heck I need more time.