Mental Preparedness

http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/blog/the-color-code-of-awareness.htm#comment-38144

Good article on situational awareness, how to spot potential conflict, avoid conflict, and engage if necessary.

This is also how, I went about riding motorcycles after I was taken out on my first road bike after 3 weeks of ownership.

Quote from Gulag Archipelago

“And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?... The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If...if...We didn't love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation.... We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward.”
― Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn

 

 

Resist.

OK, You Know I'll Get a Fatwah for Posting This

Assault on Small Farmers

This is a link to my FB conversation with a bunch of links to assaults on small farming operations.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=441221095904090&id=1347012610&comment_id=5883805

For those not aware, there have been  a number of assaults on farming freedom this year. The government has decided what you can eat and drink, or at least what you CAN'T eat and drink. The USDA and FDA have been doing a good job of protecting large agricultural businesses.

There's been a big push to have farm workers get commercial licenses and prevent minors from working on farms.

The government will confiscate your money without trial if you don't make your deposits the way they want.

This is just a link to a short piece of history in Romania regarding the centralization of farms under the communists.

A link to Lew Rockwell and Polyface Farms. Basic lessons in organic farming.

And in addition to the raw milk bans, Michigan's Department of Natural Resources has banned certain types of pigs--the ones that BigAg don't use--and using armed SWAT-type raids to force farmers to kill all their pigs. Really?

Sorry this post is so disjointed. I'm so mad. If you don't have the freedom to grow and eat what you choose, you don't have the most basic freedom to live. The assaults on micro-agriculture in the last year has been insane, if not downright evil.

Other cities have banned gardens, often using code enforcement to get rid of composting bins.

So it seems the government is intent on making us dependent on large farms and food processors. Will there be a day when we get nothing but the FDA-approved equivalent of pink slime?

I've heard the arguments of "It's just farmers who sell their stuff" and "It won't be used against individuals" but who could really believe that when government agencies have such a huge and documented history of overreach?

Maybe we can all eat the FDA-approved gruel-like-substance that looks like that stuff from "The Matrix".

DIY solar hot water heater

Here's something that's pretty cool. I didn't do it, and the final version has about $500 in materials plus time, so, It's about half of some commercial units available, but it's a nice example of things you can do.

If you use less expensive materials, you could get away with spending less money, but read the article and see why he used what he did.

Bishop Jenky's Homily and Godwin's Rule

http://www.thecatholicpost.com/post/PostArticle.aspx?ID=2440

Godwin's Rule

The above links give the full text of Bishop Jenky's homily of April 14, 2012. In it, the Bishop Jenky points out certain parallel's of Obama's Administration and those of Hitler and Stalin where it comes to freedom to practice religion.

Jenky points out that all three are willing to tolerate the existence of churches, but not their interference with the state.

Go, take some time to read it.

FWIW, in the interest of disclosure, I'm not Catholic.

Ok, I'm a little late for tax day

This year, I actually got my taxes done early.
I'm in the process of taking myself out of the ownership cycle in the American economy.
For those who don't know, if you get foreclosed on, the bank can issue you a 1099 for their loss, which the IRS views as income. I may end up with a very large tax bill and no real way to pay it, and what property I do own isn't worth seeing sold off. So I'm liquidating.
I spent way too much time and money on rentals, to the point it's all but bankrupted me. I am selling leftover materials, tools, car parts, and things I've collected over the years to help pay the bills. As a bonus, my place is really getting cleaned up, and I'm meeting some nice people. I'm also meeting a bunch of bargain hunters who are rude and a waste of time, but with the economy down, I know to expect it.

I was up last night considering how it's actually impossible to own any property. With property taxes due every year, Americans are little more than share croppers for the Federal Reserve. If you didn't know, all real estate is pledged as collateral to the Federal Reserve in exchange for the printing of the debt notes known as dollars.
Now your travel may be curtailed if you don't pay the IRS what they claim you owe them. So, not only can you not truly own any property, but you are chattel on it, for the federal government.
 With all the recent scandals, it should be apparent to anyone how corrupt and unconcerned many government employees are. I experienced this while working in a couple government positions. Employees were unconcerned with how they treated government property. They also knew how hard it would to be fired once they passed probation. So, the GSA, SS, and other scandals don't even phase me anymore. Hopefully they will shake some people out of their stupor.
I'm going to post this for now and provide links later.

Obama Gaffs

No my list. Please go HERE