Poor America

   How did we get here?

HST 2.20.2012

   Strange vibrations on this night in the year of our Lord 2012. Seven years. Seven years of quiet. Seven years without the proper insanity to balance the evil insanity that are the powers that be. Idiots. Bastards. Swine. You are gone and there will not be another like you. Fear and loathing in the new millennium. Where ever you are now, I hope you have rid yourself from the pain of being a man.
   ...and that you have the regular satisfaction of stomping Richard Milhous Nixon.

Rest in peace, Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005).

2012: Here We Go

   One side effect of this blog for me has been a realization of the power of words. One of my New Year's resolutions a few years back was to start a blog and so one of the early posts was about my resolution for the year. I had not been historically big on resolutions, but now I had a forum and needed to write. As I wrote resolutions that first year I seemed to feel I needed to fill content and went a bit beyond what I would have considered "realistic". Nothing like having goals, I figured. As the year passed I posted updates. At the end of the year I was shocked to find that almost all of my resolutions had come to pass, one way or another.

   The next year I decided to push it a bit further to see what happened. Again, more happened than I would have expected.

   Last year my wife and I decided to try it on something big: our debt. I made one resolution. I later amended it with some smaller things that I "would like" to have happen, but I was afraid to take anything from the focus of reducing our debt. As the year went on I did not accomplish a lot, but we started to realize that the pace we had set with paying down our debt could have us completely paid off "before Thanksgiving". We kept that mindset and, despite car repairs and an emergency room visit, we were completely debt-free by Thanksgiving.

   I've decided this year to go for broke. I have a lot that I want to do this year and some of it is well beyond the scope of anything with which I have any real experience. Some of it just has to do with getting back on track after having only one primary focus last year. Let's get started:

   As I write this we are just coming out of a winter storm that brought record snow and ice and shut things down for a couple days. It makes me realize just how easy it is to let things slide and not be ready in time when something does happen. This past year we have been so focused on saving money to pay bills, when I did get a twinge that we were low on this or that I told myself we would be able to get back on track once we're out of debt. With the exception of having to scramble for firewood, we made it through this storm with little difficulty. Fortunately it was only a few days and we only lost power for a short time one night (which is more than about 300,000 homes in the area can say). Still, we need to be better prepared. My first resolution is to get back on track with our emergency preparedness.

   In line with that thought, I fully intend to continue gardening. The past couple years were disappointing in the garden. I would like to produce enough in the garden this year to have extra to can for winter. We did some canning this year, but the bulk of what we canned came from the local produce stand. I also want to can more this year -- meals like chili, soups, stews, and the like. Our pantry is well-stocked at the moment, especially considering the odd summer and fall we had. Again, though, I would like to get started canning earlier this year so we can put more away.

   I also want to get back into a brewing routine this year. As we got serious about canning it seems my beer brewing slowed and halted. I have rebuilt my bottle supply (rough work, that) and intend to bottle as well as keg. In addition, I really want to start all-grain brewing. This will require an investment into some equipment, but not a lot as I already have everything I need for extract brewing. I have just acquired a mash tun in the past few days -- that was the biggest hurdle. I now only need a propane cooker, a recipe, and the ingredients to get started. I will also need a new bottle capper to started bottling as mine was passed on a while back. This has already begun.

   I want to hunt deer and elk this year. It is my understanding that the bowhunting season for deer and elk overlap, so that is my plan. Mostly what I need to do this year is get out scouting a good hunting area. This past fall what really hurt my hunt was that the area I had scouted the season prior had been heavily logged and I failed to scout a better spot. It would be ideal to plan a camping trip before hunting season and really scout the area. Between the garden, canning, scouting, and hunting I need to expect my late summer and fall to be really busy.

   On a completely different tangent, I have a set of professional goals for this year's resolutions. I have one recording project -- a sort of reworking of an older recording project -- that I want to complete. My intent is to use this project as a learning tool that will set me up for another recording project. The second project will require me to start songwriting again, which I have already, albeit slowly, begun. There is some music and recording equipment I wish to acquire this year for various reasons that include a guitar that is quite expensive, but it should be the last performance guitar I will ever need. I also want to focus on drumming and percussion this year and have already set my drums back up n my music room/office and been working on rudiments.

   As long as I'm going for broke, I have two resolutions that are a bit out on a limb. First, my wife and I have been talking about owning a farm for several years now. Now that we are out of debt it seems we should stop talking about it and do it. I would like to own a farm this year.

   Also, it seems America is ready for a change. The corporations and politicians in power seem intent on selling out We The People and our futures for their own interests. I was with the Tea Party movement until it was hijacked by the right wing. The left seems intent on trying to hijack the Occupy movement. At the end of the day, it seems We The People are ready for change, we just need to stop playing the game. The United States of America is not about democrats or republicans. It is about a government of, for, and by the people. It's time to take it back. I resolve to do everything I can to remind people of that fact an encourage all U.S. citizens to take back our country. By the end of 2012 it should be evident that a revolution has taken place in the United States.

   If that's not enough, it is my intention to do all of this while maintaining my commitments to my wife, my son, homeschooling, and the balance of my own well-being. I also have a number of family-centric goals for this year that my wife and I have discussed (mostly things that involve more regular check-ups with doctors, dentists, and mechanics).

   Considering that I am posting this as February has just set upon us, I'd say it's time to get to work.

Why SOPA is a Bad Idea

Voting with Our Farms and Forks against Climate Catastrophe

Voting with Our Farms and Forks against Climate Catastrophe

If we allow the infamous "one percent" to continue with business as usual, we will soon be arriving at civilization's last stop, climate hell. If we allow the U.S. and global fossil fuel/military industrial/corporate agribusiness economy to keep turning up the planet's delicately balanced thermostat, raising average global temperatures by two degrees Celsius or more, we will soon pass the point of no return, detonating runaway global warming. Among the catastrophic consequences of runaway global warming will be the release of a significant portion of the 1.7 trillion tons of deadly methane now sequestered in the shallow Arctic seabeds and permafrost (equivalent to twice the amount of total greenhouse gas pollution currently in the atmosphere). As the International Energy Agency warned on November 9, the world is accelerating toward irreversible climate change. We will lose the chance to avert catastrophic warming if we don't take bold action in the next five years to sharply reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; drastically increase energy efficiency in the food, transportation, utilities, and housing sectors; and safely sequester billions of tons of greenhouse gases in our soils, plants, and forests through organic soil management and permaculture practices. In other words we have approximately 1800 days left to avert catastrophe.

Voting with Our Farms and Forks against Climate Catastrophe

The End of the Consumerist Model

The End of the Consumerist Model

"I am writing these reflections in the midst of economic and political debates taking place throughout the world about the necessity of implementing stimulus plans to limit the destructive effects of the First planetary economic crisis of the capitalist world."

The End of the Consumerist Model

Thanksgiving

(from Native Circle)

The Thanksgiving Myth
by John Two-Hawks

   Let me begin by stating that thousands of years before the 'official'
Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed by Governor Winthrop of the
Massachussetts Bay Colony in 1637, North American Indigenous
people across the continent had celebrated seasons of Thanksgiving.
'Thanksgiving' is a very ancient concept to American Indian nations.
The big problem with the American Thanksgiving holiday is its false
association with American Indian people.  The infamous 'Indians and
pilgrims' myth.  It is good to celebrate Thanksgiving, to be thankful
for your blessings.  It is not good to distort history, to falsely portray
the origin of this holiday and lie about the truth of its actual inception.
Here are some accurate historical facts about the true origin of this
American holiday that may interest you...

   'Thanksgiving' did not begin as a great loving relationship between the
pilgrims and the Wampanoag, Pequot and Narragansett people.  In fact,
in October of 1621 when the 'pilgrim' survivors of their first winter in
Turtle Island sat down to share the first unofficial 'Thanksgiving' meal,
the Indians who were there were not even invited!  There was no turkey,
squash, cranberry sauce or pumpkin pie.  A few days before this alleged
feast took place, a company of 'pilgrims' led by Miles Standish actively
sought the head of a local Indian leader, and an 11 foot high wall was
erected around the entire Plymouth settlement for the very purpose of
keeping Indians out!  Officially, the holiday we know as 'Thanksgiving'
actually came into existence in the year 1637. Governor Winthrop of the
Massachussetts Bay Colony proclaimed this first official day of Thanksgiving
and feasting to celebrate the return of the colony's men who had arrived
safely from what is now Mystic, Connecticut.  They had gone there to
participate in the massacre of over 700 Pequot men, women and children,
and Mr. Winthrop decided to dedicate an official day of thanksgiving
complete with a feast to 'give thanks' for their great 'victory'....

   As hard as it may be to conceive, this is the actual origin of our current
Thanksgiving Day holiday.  Many American Indian people these days do
not observe this holiday, for obvious reasons.  I see nothing wrong with
gathering with family to give thanks to our Creator for our blessings and
sharing a meal.  I do, however, hope that Americans as a whole will one
day acknowledge the true origin of this holiday, and remember the pain,
loss, and agony of the Indigenous people who suffered at the hands of
the so-called 'pilgrims'.  It is my hope that children's plays about 'the
first Thanksgiving', complete with Indians and pilgrims chumming at
the dinner table, will someday be a thing of the past.  Why perpetuate
a lie?  Let us face the truths of the past, and give thanks that we are
learning to love one another for the rich human diversity we share.

(Written by John Two-Hawks) 

Home-Made Tabasco!

   Back in June I posted about getting the food mill and making hot pepper sauce. Because we've been shopping at Costco quite a bit this year to cut expenses, the large bottle of Tabasco we had in the 'fridge lasted quite a while. I finally drained it the other night when we had burritos. I washed the bottle out and grabbed one of the pints from June and opened it, not knowing for sure if I would be filling the Tabasco bottle or pouring the jar down the drain.

   Great news! It turned out really good! It's almost identical to Tabasco except for the color which is more of a darker red as opposed to bright red (probably because I didn't use the chemicals). To be completely honest, my preference would have been something more like Frank's Red Hot (which is why I was generous with the garlic), but I am very happy with the results! One pint filled the Tabasco with a significant amount leftover. That bottle lasted several months, so the five pints I made in June should keep us covered for a good, long time.

   Now our pantry is stocked with home-made ketchup, mayonnaise, relish, salsa, and hot pepper sauce!

   Next I need to learn to make mustard!

Resolutions Revisited

   Sorry to my loyal readers (all four of you) that I have not posted anything in a while. I've been busy with work, family, and the whole Occupy movement that I hope is a step toward real change on the horizon (I'd even be happy to admit that it began with the Tea Party movement (which really had more in common with the Occupy movement at it's genesis than you may think, but that's another post altogether...)).

   I am posting today because today is a very special day. In January I posted my resolutions for the year, the primary of which was to pay down our debt. In a post titled 2011 Resolutions, I set some other general goals for the year, maintaining paying down our debt as the priority.

   I am only mildly disappointed to say that I did not really make a lot of progress on most things this year. The summer was short and the garden did not do well. The weather also kept me from getting out to hike, run, or go backpacking nearly as much as I intended. My writing/music projects had to be shelved as my job changed dramatically in April, consuming my creative energies (though it turned out to not be a bad thing as I had expected). I was able to go on one elk hunting excursion, but did not do any other hunting this year. I did not brew any beer, learn cheese making or baking. I don't think I can ever spend enough time with my son.

   I did get a little work done on our 1969 VW bus -- a late resolution that I do not believe I posted about -- but even that was modest progress at best. I also got a food mill after I learned that Coinstar will trade coins for Amazon.com certificates at no charge. The food mill has been great for processing food and canning!

   I am only mildly disappointed by all of this because of what we did today.

   Today we made the final payment on our last debt! The only thing we owe is our current rent, utilities, etc. We have severed all ties with every corporate bank and own our entire lives outright. For myself, personally, it is probably the first time since the mid-eighties that I can say that.

   In January, when I said we were going to focus on paying down our debt this year I thought, "How great would it be to be out of debt by the end of the year?" Of course, I did not think it was realistic. As we cut our household budget and committed every dime we could spare to our highest interest debt first, and then the next one, and then the next one, at one point my wife and I started saying -- extremely optimistically but consistently -- "If we keep this up, we'll have everything paid off before Thanksgiving!"

   Thanksgiving is three days away. We have paid off our debt. All of it.

   As I sit here now writing this I can not express the sense of amazement that I have. Remember that saying about what you can accomplish if you put your mind to it? As a tone-deaf kid who knowingly committed to "a life of poverty and obscurity" at age 15, wanting to one day "make a living as a musician" and having done exactly that for the past decade, I am beginning to think there might be something to it.

   From now on I'm dreaming BIG!

   You?

Occupy Wall Street: It’s Not a Hippie Thing

Occupy Wall Street: It’s Not a Hippie Thing

For all its social snootiness, Wall Street has suffered far more from the meddling of members of its own class than from intrusions by those outside it. It was Franklin D. Roosevelt, an aristocrat, who held the lords of finance responsible for the Great Depression—securing legislation to establish the Securities and Exchange Commission, asserting federal authority over the stock exchange, and appointing a wealthy stock trader, Joseph Kennedy Sr., to ride herd. Not much better, from Wall Street’s perspective, was FDR’s Cousin Teddy, who as President prosecuted trusts as illegal monopolies. Or Louis Brandeis, a Harvard-trained corporate attorney turned crusader against the concentration of wealth and power.

These men changed the system from within, as have the ablest regulators in recent times. Arthur Levitt Jr., a vigorous SEC chairman under President Bill Clinton, was first the president of Shearson Hayden Stone. (Levitt is a member of the board of Bloomberg L.P., owner of Bloomberg Businessweek.) Paul A. Volcker cut his teeth at Chase Manhattan before running the Federal Reserve and becoming the gruff animating voice behind the Volcker Rule, which bans commercial banks from engaging in proprietary trading. It’s hard to imagine any of these “opponents” of Wall Street mounting a barricade. They didn’t need to storm the castle to know where the secrets were hidden.

In its very amateurism, Occupy Wall Street represents something new. Although it’s attracted some celebrities and well-heeled supporters, participants come chiefly from outside Wall Street. Many are unemployed or poorly employed. These are not bankers or reform-minded professors; these are also-rans in the capitalist race, upset with the system itself. Their chief weapon is neither eloquence nor argument, but their physical presence.

As critics have noted, the protesters are not in complete agreement with each other, but the overall message is reasonably coherent. They want more and better jobs, more equal distribution of income, less profit (or no profit) for banks, lower compensation for bankers, and more strictures on banks with regard to negotiating consumer services such as mortgages and debit cards. They also want to reduce the influence that corporations—financial firms in particular—wield in politics, and they want a more populist set of government priorities: bailouts for student debtors and mortgage holders, not just for banks.

In its grassroots and leftist character, Occupy Wall Street bears a superficial resemblance to protests from the ’60s and early ’70s. But the Woodstock Era was different in ways that tell us important things about the current siege. Then, radical students preached an affinity with the “working class,” but it was rare that the students and any members of the working class actually joined arms...

There are now protests flourishing around the country, including my hometown. Occupy Boston is at the foot of the financial district in Dewey Square, which is given over to scores of closely packed, brightly colored camping tents. On the same day I toured the site, Ben S. Bernanke visited the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, right across the street, though no one on the square seemed to know it. Nor did Bernanke wander over.

The message in Boston is the same as in New York, but with a more desperate edge. Stan Malcolm told me he had been working in flooring—an industry hit hard by the real estate slump—until 18 months ago, when his employer shut down. “There ain’t no work anywhere,” he said. Since then he has been doing day labor and eating at soup kitchens. I asked what he will do when the cold weather comes. Wasting not a syllable, he replied: “Bundle up.”

Occupy Wall Street: It’s Not a Hippie Thing

PRICELE$$

Jensen Farms Packing Operation Fatally Flawed

Jensen Farms Packing Operation Fatally Flawed

Industrial agriculture does it again!

"The nationwide outbreak of listeriosis, which has killed 25 people and sickened 98 others, is the first involving Listeria-contaminated whole cantaloupes."

Jensen Farms Packing Operation Fatally Flawed