All aboard the crazy train for the weekly sojourn. I tried on so many titles for this- I have since edited and simplified the title. I am gonna have to cut back on the Xanax.
(Disclaimer* I have used the "N" word in this piece, please make sure you have taken your blood pressure medication before continuing.)
Dollar stores, predatory loan shops, and tattoo parlors. That is the new economy of Boise.
There are hundreds of these things all over town. That and a healthy supply of vacant commercial property everywhere makes it pretty difficult to buy into the premise that the economy has recovered. This is a political meme. The pretend recovery. We're going to piss down your back and tell you it's raining. We always need more rain. So I giggled the first time I saw this.
The optimist says, "the glass is half full." The pessimist says, "the glass is half empty." The realist says, "Hey, my glass has piss in it!"
I am the third guy. I have always been that way. I don't think there is any better description of me.
So I want to talk about another political meme today. I think you'll like it- but first a slight meander.
I have this job hauling freight which I like for the following reasons. There is no boss riding in the truck and telling me where to turn. People are genuinely happy to see me because rather than arresting them- I usually arrive with a huge TV or treadmill or some equally enormous muscle tearing piece of freight. The work is so simple that I do not not go home and wonder whether I did the right thing or not. I do not have pictures of carnage in my mind.The people I work with, including the bosses, are very good people. I am grateful for all of that and the fact that I can simply take a week off whenever I please. Like next week.
But the best part about this job is that it gives me plenty of time to think, to drive around and look at tattoo and loan shops, dollar stores, and vacant property while thinking on how one class of people think they are entitled to free speech while denying someone else the very same right. So the story I'm about to relate to you is about free speech and why it is so critically important to protect it.
I have a friend in Boise who I once worked with years ago- when we were kid cops. I always liked Rich. The salient point here is that Rich is black. Very often, Rich posts things on his Facebook page that have something to do with being black. Sometimes but certainly not always, the nature of those black remarks pokes fun at white folks or broad strokes them a little ignorant. Now I'm not sure whether that's good or bad but the part that I am positive and adamant about- is that Rich has every right to free speech and to convey his truth and perspective.
And here's where it gets a little crazy. Earlier this week, Rich started posting the rantings of BLM scofflaw Cliven Bundy and painting him as a racist. Rich even went so far as to state he wanted to thin out his friends list a little bit, so he invited people to agree with Bundy in order that he might identify and delete them or whatever the hell they call it on Facebook. The comments that followed Rich's anti- Bundy remarks were what you might expect. A lot of folks calling Bundy an idiot and heaping some hate on, almost universally and unanimously, in the fashion we have all become accustomed to.
It is a key point to bear in mind that what you say and who you are- are not always the same thing. It is a lot more humane to attack errant speech specifically and then perhaps- surgically remove it- rather than curing it by killing the patient.
Now I've listened to Bundy's remarks and what he is trying to say is no more inflammatory than most of the shit I've been listening to from whites and blacks my whole life. I actually agree with much of what Bundy is trying to convey- I just hate that he used race to try and convey his points. Because the real issue doesn't have a damn thing to do with racism. What Bundy can't get his arms around is that we have a real oligarchy in the United States wherein the rich and banking elite have joined forces with the government to enslave all of us. That he used old racist stereotyping and metaphor to try and make his points was of course- the wrong conduit. That gave everybody with an axe to grind- the opportunity to label Bundy based on his speech.
The left leaning envirocons and self avowed non racist class claimed moral high ground by calling Cliven a racist. The Bundy supporters tried to explain Bundy's remarks and tried to keep folks focused on our government's overreach- over the jeers of the leftists.http://www.americanthinker.com/2014/04/cliven_bundy_delenda_est.html Unfortunately the leftists, with so much ammunition, were able to label the Bundy supporters as wrong thinking neanderthals who see the glass as half empty with Cliven Bundy as their mascot. Like Rich's friends- the left claimed victory. They have long ago broken those racist chains that still bind dimwits like Cliven Bundy.
This thinking was quite evident all over the web this week. Once you've been labeled a racist- there is no going back. There is no rehab, no second chance. You are an idiot forever. Nothing you will ever say will be given any credibility. Live a life of good deeds but screw one sheep and you will not be known as Bob the good guy. You will be known as Bob the sheep f#$%^*.
Nothing can kill free speech quicker than chastising, ridiculing, and labeling somebody for the speech that they select. That is the damage that peer pressure brings to bear on free speech. If you don't protect the free speech process- one day- you'll wake up and it will be gone.
Which brings me to an encounter I had at a gas pump in Shakopee, Mn., just outside Minneapolis in the summer of 2007. The day after the bridge collapsed. I noticed a Mexican guy, a former illegal alien it turns out, staring at my motorcycle. A conversation suddenly broke out and during that conversation this former illegal alien told me that the south in general and particularly New Orleans- where I was going- was full of niggers. Now I wish that I could tell you that upon hearing that term, I suffered a debilitating stroke but that did not happen. I remember looking at him at that very moment and thinking that was an incredibly odd thing for an illegal alien to say. Had I gotten hung up on his use of the "n" word I might have missed the point he was making. He was making a point about pity parties, claiming victim status, and missing out on the American dream. Fortunately I did not have a nervous breakdown when I heard something objectionable. Therefore, I heard the message. This is precisely what happened to Cliven Bundy this week. His message, his free speech, and in essence his credibility- all died when he selected blacks and slavery as his metaphor.
The leftists wanted to kill Cliven all along. But Cliven committed suicide instead. That stuff happens.
You see I know that the reason free speech is number ONE in the Bill of Rights is because a group of radicals using free speech are what gave us our freedom. I also realize that at some point in the future, a bunch of radicals using free speech are going to give us back our freedom. The salient point being- don't get so focused on being right or wrong that you forget what's important and drink half a glass of piss by mistake.
I'll see ya in Butte next week.
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Saturday, April 19, 2014
How To Build Your Own Lynch Mob- The Sunday Collage
Thanks to all of you who said nice things to me about the Wounded Knee blog. That by the way, was a once a year deal. I am just not that consistently bright. If you are hoping to find something as equally good today- you are shit out of luck.
Ok, so my mom reads this. Other than my sister and younger brother, there aren't many children that my mother is proud of. Mom has three kids. So I had to clean up the original title of this piece- fragments of which can be found in the next few sentences.
Back in my policing days, I had a fellow law enforcer who had a poster of a gorgeous blond hanging in his locker. At the bottom of that poster the caption read, "Somewhere, some guy, is sick of her shit."
The point being that despite her good looks, she was a pain in the ass. And replaceable. I think we all know somebody like that.
Now I'm going to move from replaceable women to all sorts of things with the blinding speed of an old A.D.D. patient swilling coffee and wearing tinfoil. Please try to keep up if you are new here.
In college, I had this professor named Ralph Maughan. I always viewed him as sort of a hippie. He taught Political Science in jeans and tennis shoes. He was a heap big environmentalist and still is. I think I was already pre-disposed to protecting the environment having been raised in Butte and exposed to the worst man made environmental disaster in the lower 48. In Butte, you can see first hand how greedy corporate interests can quite literally destroy the planet and walk away. I actually cringe a little bit while watching gold mining shows on television to this day- as miners rip up some pristine mountain top- looking for gold.
At any rate, Ralph Maughan is an ultra environmentalist and I think- he was once a past president of the Sierra Club. I also believe he had quite a bit to do with the re-introduction of wolves. I had lost contact with him over the years until this week. Ralph, you see, has a blog of his own called the Wildlife News. At the Wildlife News, the writers and the readers are pro anything that has to do with protecting the environment. Mostly I'm ok with that- up until such point that the envirocons tell me I have to pay for their really lame ideas.
Environmentalists and common sense part ways when they want to do some ridiculous thing like introduce a hated predator that we have since replaced in the food chain. People hate wolves, generally speaking- and they will kill them. I on the other hand, love wolves. In fact, a lot of my college research and writing projects were centered on wolves because at one point in my life I was absolutely obsessed with them. That's why I was against wolf re-introduction. I did not want to see wolves get killed because if I understand one animal better than wolves- it is human beings.
So the environmentalists and wildlife people have won a little battle but will lose the war- because as the population expands- they will once again remove top of the food chain predators like grizzlies and wolves. Today's victory in the annals of time- will be tomorrow's loss.
We all assume that environmentalists walk with a left lean and mostly I think- that's true. They tend to be Federal Government supporting statists because the only way an environmentalist can advance their agenda- is to get laws passed by one, supreme, umbrella government which supports their agenda and which also tends to diminish opposing agendas. It would be too difficult to get individual states to agree to some sweeping proposal like wolf reintroduction. Think rancher dominated legislatures like Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. They would have never signed off on wolf re-introduction and the environmentalists knew that. So that is where the culture clashes. Environmentalists v ranching interests.
Do not get these passions confused with politics. These are too opposing forces. One believes in stewarding the environment and wildlife and one believes in his God given right to make a living and to protect his assets. Politics unfortunately, is how we decide who wins and who loses.
Freedom thrives where laws are scarce. Every time you pass a law- freedom suffers. Laws restrict human behavior. I'm for moderation when creating new laws. I've always been against creating unenforceable or silly laws- that is the libertarian in me.
Which brings me to Cliven Bundy and his trespassing cows.
During the week, I found myself on Wildlife News reading all of the predictable comments and threads with regard to Cliven Bundy and his stand off with the Federal Government. The folks at Wildlife News call Cliven a welfare rancher, a criminal, and a right wing nut job.
Why? Because they have a one way lens on their telescope. They only see life one way. Their way. And they don't give two shits about any other way- because they believe they are the keepers of the moral high ground. They will argue and delete you. The law they think- is always on their side. The law, history shows us, has always been on the side of overthrown governments just before they get overthrown. It is not such a stretch to understand that a crooked and over reaching government will pass laws to try and protect itself.
I'm not going to link the Wildlife News here. Honestly, there's just too much politics embedded in that site and I don't want the track back here.
Do I think people should be allowed to damage publicly owned land? No. But the evolution of the United States encouraged homesteading, farming, and ranching. That's been our history which occurred long before I landed on this rock. So maybe we've passed that moment in time where we no longer want people to use or cultivate wild or public lands. Are there solutions and remedies? Of course. The Federal Government could return lands to the individual states. People like Bundy could be grandfathered in and eventually their rights to graze could slowly sunset or phase out. Maybe this government, which has no problem allowing bankers to commit fraud while extorting giant billion dollar fines- could negotiate some form of settlement with Bundy. This is all more constructive and above board than using some pretense that cows destroy tortoise habitat.
I have to tell you this. I enjoyed seeing a bunch of right wing nut jobs with guns back down the Federal Government and the left wing nut jobs. And I'll tell you why..
It's not because I'm some anarchist (well, maybe a little) but I have grown weary of the Federal Government and their shit. I am sick of hearing about non existent economic recoveries, about Bureau of Labor Statistics figures that are nothing but propaganda and lies. I am sick of a government which refuses to enforce the rule of law on fraud committing bankers, a government which has stolen trillions from our treasury, and continues to cover up every scandal from Fast and Furious, Benghazi, and IRS. I am sick of being told to obey the law while the Treasury won't even allow an audit of the FED or of the gold allegedly contained in Fort Knox. I am sick of QE programs, the worst Congress and President ever, and the erosion of our human and civil rights.
Did you see those ridiculous little "First Amendment" pens the government set up near Bundy's ranch? Protest here- where nobody can see you. Laughable.
The problem with most people picking sides in the Bundy battle is that while they debated the nuances and issues of who was right and who was wrong- they forgot to look at the big picture. The big picture is the one where millions of people are getting sick of a government that thinks it can bully whoever it chooses without reprisal.
It doesn't matter whether Bundy was right or not. Whether he paid his fees or his cows walked on the backs of tortoises. Our government is like a bully that has done so many wrongs- that even when it manages to do one thing right- nobody cares anymore. That's the moment we are in right now.
That's why thousands of people flocked down to Nevada. They weren't fighting Bundy's war. They were fighting their own war against an oppressive government that continues to steal and erode their freedoms. That mob is growing. People might just be getting sick of this government's shit and the BLM may have figured that out this week.
You want to die over cows and tortoises? I guess not. If the government is good at anything right now- it is getting very good at disenfranchising millions of us. It would have been interesting to see what they would have done after the fall elections.
Happy Easter everyone!
Ok, so my mom reads this. Other than my sister and younger brother, there aren't many children that my mother is proud of. Mom has three kids. So I had to clean up the original title of this piece- fragments of which can be found in the next few sentences.
Back in my policing days, I had a fellow law enforcer who had a poster of a gorgeous blond hanging in his locker. At the bottom of that poster the caption read, "Somewhere, some guy, is sick of her shit."
The point being that despite her good looks, she was a pain in the ass. And replaceable. I think we all know somebody like that.
Now I'm going to move from replaceable women to all sorts of things with the blinding speed of an old A.D.D. patient swilling coffee and wearing tinfoil. Please try to keep up if you are new here.
In college, I had this professor named Ralph Maughan. I always viewed him as sort of a hippie. He taught Political Science in jeans and tennis shoes. He was a heap big environmentalist and still is. I think I was already pre-disposed to protecting the environment having been raised in Butte and exposed to the worst man made environmental disaster in the lower 48. In Butte, you can see first hand how greedy corporate interests can quite literally destroy the planet and walk away. I actually cringe a little bit while watching gold mining shows on television to this day- as miners rip up some pristine mountain top- looking for gold.
At any rate, Ralph Maughan is an ultra environmentalist and I think- he was once a past president of the Sierra Club. I also believe he had quite a bit to do with the re-introduction of wolves. I had lost contact with him over the years until this week. Ralph, you see, has a blog of his own called the Wildlife News. At the Wildlife News, the writers and the readers are pro anything that has to do with protecting the environment. Mostly I'm ok with that- up until such point that the envirocons tell me I have to pay for their really lame ideas.
Environmentalists and common sense part ways when they want to do some ridiculous thing like introduce a hated predator that we have since replaced in the food chain. People hate wolves, generally speaking- and they will kill them. I on the other hand, love wolves. In fact, a lot of my college research and writing projects were centered on wolves because at one point in my life I was absolutely obsessed with them. That's why I was against wolf re-introduction. I did not want to see wolves get killed because if I understand one animal better than wolves- it is human beings.
So the environmentalists and wildlife people have won a little battle but will lose the war- because as the population expands- they will once again remove top of the food chain predators like grizzlies and wolves. Today's victory in the annals of time- will be tomorrow's loss.
We all assume that environmentalists walk with a left lean and mostly I think- that's true. They tend to be Federal Government supporting statists because the only way an environmentalist can advance their agenda- is to get laws passed by one, supreme, umbrella government which supports their agenda and which also tends to diminish opposing agendas. It would be too difficult to get individual states to agree to some sweeping proposal like wolf reintroduction. Think rancher dominated legislatures like Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. They would have never signed off on wolf re-introduction and the environmentalists knew that. So that is where the culture clashes. Environmentalists v ranching interests.
Do not get these passions confused with politics. These are too opposing forces. One believes in stewarding the environment and wildlife and one believes in his God given right to make a living and to protect his assets. Politics unfortunately, is how we decide who wins and who loses.
Freedom thrives where laws are scarce. Every time you pass a law- freedom suffers. Laws restrict human behavior. I'm for moderation when creating new laws. I've always been against creating unenforceable or silly laws- that is the libertarian in me.
Which brings me to Cliven Bundy and his trespassing cows.
During the week, I found myself on Wildlife News reading all of the predictable comments and threads with regard to Cliven Bundy and his stand off with the Federal Government. The folks at Wildlife News call Cliven a welfare rancher, a criminal, and a right wing nut job.
Why? Because they have a one way lens on their telescope. They only see life one way. Their way. And they don't give two shits about any other way- because they believe they are the keepers of the moral high ground. They will argue and delete you. The law they think- is always on their side. The law, history shows us, has always been on the side of overthrown governments just before they get overthrown. It is not such a stretch to understand that a crooked and over reaching government will pass laws to try and protect itself.
I'm not going to link the Wildlife News here. Honestly, there's just too much politics embedded in that site and I don't want the track back here.
Do I think people should be allowed to damage publicly owned land? No. But the evolution of the United States encouraged homesteading, farming, and ranching. That's been our history which occurred long before I landed on this rock. So maybe we've passed that moment in time where we no longer want people to use or cultivate wild or public lands. Are there solutions and remedies? Of course. The Federal Government could return lands to the individual states. People like Bundy could be grandfathered in and eventually their rights to graze could slowly sunset or phase out. Maybe this government, which has no problem allowing bankers to commit fraud while extorting giant billion dollar fines- could negotiate some form of settlement with Bundy. This is all more constructive and above board than using some pretense that cows destroy tortoise habitat.
I have to tell you this. I enjoyed seeing a bunch of right wing nut jobs with guns back down the Federal Government and the left wing nut jobs. And I'll tell you why..
It's not because I'm some anarchist (well, maybe a little) but I have grown weary of the Federal Government and their shit. I am sick of hearing about non existent economic recoveries, about Bureau of Labor Statistics figures that are nothing but propaganda and lies. I am sick of a government which refuses to enforce the rule of law on fraud committing bankers, a government which has stolen trillions from our treasury, and continues to cover up every scandal from Fast and Furious, Benghazi, and IRS. I am sick of being told to obey the law while the Treasury won't even allow an audit of the FED or of the gold allegedly contained in Fort Knox. I am sick of QE programs, the worst Congress and President ever, and the erosion of our human and civil rights.
Did you see those ridiculous little "First Amendment" pens the government set up near Bundy's ranch? Protest here- where nobody can see you. Laughable.
The problem with most people picking sides in the Bundy battle is that while they debated the nuances and issues of who was right and who was wrong- they forgot to look at the big picture. The big picture is the one where millions of people are getting sick of a government that thinks it can bully whoever it chooses without reprisal.
It doesn't matter whether Bundy was right or not. Whether he paid his fees or his cows walked on the backs of tortoises. Our government is like a bully that has done so many wrongs- that even when it manages to do one thing right- nobody cares anymore. That's the moment we are in right now.
That's why thousands of people flocked down to Nevada. They weren't fighting Bundy's war. They were fighting their own war against an oppressive government that continues to steal and erode their freedoms. That mob is growing. People might just be getting sick of this government's shit and the BLM may have figured that out this week.
You want to die over cows and tortoises? I guess not. If the government is good at anything right now- it is getting very good at disenfranchising millions of us. It would have been interesting to see what they would have done after the fall elections.
Happy Easter everyone!
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Where the Cactus Grows- The Sunday Collage
So once again, another showdown on BLM range land- this time with Clive Bundy and his cattle. It's ok to detonate atomic bombs in the Nevada desert which apparently has little or no effect on the endangered desert tortoise. Instead, the chief enemy of the desert tortoise as we all might surmise from government sources- are grazing cattle.
So between slaughtering wild mustangs, re-introducing wolves, and putting a stop to tortoise murdering cows- our BLM masters have been hard at work managing our range lands for us.
I have four or five friends- liberal friends- who are forever posting their conservative hating rants on Facebook. I confront a couple of them from time to time. Not because it doesn't lead to nowheresville but quite simply because I get tired of reading their narrow minded vitriol.
You know the type. The GOP did this, the GOP did that. We care about people- they don't.
Now you'd think that level of unconsciousness would erode some over time- but instead- I believe it has gotten far worse- at least for these 4 or 5. At any rate, one of them posted a "BLM is rounding up and slaughtering wild mustangs" piece a week or so ago. Something like this. http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/14/17708998-the-case-of-the-missing-mustangs-what-happened-to-1700-wild-horses
Of course the BLM denies any knowledge of the mustangs eventual fate. Think Hogan's Heroes and Sergeant Schultz. "I know nushink!"
I use all of these things only as illustrations.
So let me tally up the grand successes of the Federal Government while utilizing their wildlife wizardry and animal central planning. We have a wolf re-introduction program which has cost millions and maybe billions, and is an utter disaster. The Feds have spent gawd knows how much rounding up and slaughtering wild mustangs because they have determined what numbers the range can withstand and they presumably have protected the desert tortoise from the voracious attack of grazing cattle.
All of this "management"- can be accomplished by the states themselves. It is an interesting point to note that a bunch of non resident political hacks sit in Washington D.C. tell everyone else (we refer to them as residents) how to use their own lands.
By Saturday, Cliven Bundy and armed militia men had backed down the Federal Government. Oddly enough, this occurred sometime after people began noting the absence of Senator Harry Reid in the fray. Citizen journalists began to peer into the Reid connection only to find out that Reid has solar projects slated for this very area. With Chinese partners. Indeed, they are very likely, tortoise friendly solar projects. Maybe they have little turtle shelters underneath the panels.
Last week I wrote about how the Feds tried to buy the Wounded Knee killing ground from the Sioux. The Sioux tribe refused to take the government bribe. One only has to go to Custer's battlefield to see what happens when the government takes over. The same things happen at Mt. Rushmore, at the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone Park, or any other place the government can find to further plunder the public. And get this...
There will always be someone who carries the government water. Statists who always say things like, "Well they need to be able to pay for upkeep, salaries, uniforms and pointy hats, all those sorts of things."
Last year, American taxpayers paid 400 billion dollars worth of interest to bankers on behalf of the national debt because Congress refuses to spend within it's means. Of course, this number can only rise. Four hundred billion buys a lot of admission tickets and pointy hats.
I point this out every time I hear one of their water boys tell me that we have to pay for the cost of these venues. I tell them, I have already paid.
In fact, I'll be paying again this week. Tuesday to be precise.
The solution of course is for the Federal Government to get out of our lives. Refund some of the tax money they have been seizing from citizens so that we can put out a fire once in awhile and decide how to administer our own lands. Return tourist destinations to state control or allow states to best collaborate on how to administer their own tourist venues. Local control makes a lot of sense. Chief Executives, like Governors and state legislatures can decide what to do with lands within their borders and let the residents of that state select governance based on how well they manage those things. Without the spectre of Federal government interference.
Texas is so lucky. Not one acre of BLM land. No confrontations.
I'm not against government- I'm just against bad government. I'm not against Federal Government- but I am against a Federal Government that thinks it has the authority to do anything it wants and is quite willing to attempt to do so. I'm proud that Americans and militia men took a stand and asserted their rights as free men to assemble this week.
Now we are beginning to understand why Homeland Security bought all of that ammunition.
Can you name one society or culture anywhere that perished because they removed layers of redundant government? I can't. But I can sure name cultures that were obliterated because they ignored the creep of central planners.
I gotta tell ya, I know that area of Nevada near Mesquite pretty well. I have traveled through that desert many times including the back highways on my motorcycle. Sand, snakes, scorpions, and a few rabbits. A lot of cactus, rocks, and scrub brush. It's a tough, very hot place. As you look out at the terrain, it's hard to imagine that any of it really needs any managing at all. It's not like there are enormous herds of cows devouring the vegetation and tiptoeing on the backs of desert tortoises. It's not like that at all. It is an immense place- completely barren and unpopulated.
That desert has survived quite nicely just the way that it is. I think it will continue to do so with or without the Bureau of Land Management, cows, or desert tortoises.
So between slaughtering wild mustangs, re-introducing wolves, and putting a stop to tortoise murdering cows- our BLM masters have been hard at work managing our range lands for us.
I have four or five friends- liberal friends- who are forever posting their conservative hating rants on Facebook. I confront a couple of them from time to time. Not because it doesn't lead to nowheresville but quite simply because I get tired of reading their narrow minded vitriol.
You know the type. The GOP did this, the GOP did that. We care about people- they don't.
Now you'd think that level of unconsciousness would erode some over time- but instead- I believe it has gotten far worse- at least for these 4 or 5. At any rate, one of them posted a "BLM is rounding up and slaughtering wild mustangs" piece a week or so ago. Something like this. http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/14/17708998-the-case-of-the-missing-mustangs-what-happened-to-1700-wild-horses
Of course the BLM denies any knowledge of the mustangs eventual fate. Think Hogan's Heroes and Sergeant Schultz. "I know nushink!"
I use all of these things only as illustrations.
So let me tally up the grand successes of the Federal Government while utilizing their wildlife wizardry and animal central planning. We have a wolf re-introduction program which has cost millions and maybe billions, and is an utter disaster. The Feds have spent gawd knows how much rounding up and slaughtering wild mustangs because they have determined what numbers the range can withstand and they presumably have protected the desert tortoise from the voracious attack of grazing cattle.
All of this "management"- can be accomplished by the states themselves. It is an interesting point to note that a bunch of non resident political hacks sit in Washington D.C. tell everyone else (we refer to them as residents) how to use their own lands.
By Saturday, Cliven Bundy and armed militia men had backed down the Federal Government. Oddly enough, this occurred sometime after people began noting the absence of Senator Harry Reid in the fray. Citizen journalists began to peer into the Reid connection only to find out that Reid has solar projects slated for this very area. With Chinese partners. Indeed, they are very likely, tortoise friendly solar projects. Maybe they have little turtle shelters underneath the panels.
Last week I wrote about how the Feds tried to buy the Wounded Knee killing ground from the Sioux. The Sioux tribe refused to take the government bribe. One only has to go to Custer's battlefield to see what happens when the government takes over. The same things happen at Mt. Rushmore, at the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone Park, or any other place the government can find to further plunder the public. And get this...
There will always be someone who carries the government water. Statists who always say things like, "Well they need to be able to pay for upkeep, salaries, uniforms and pointy hats, all those sorts of things."
Last year, American taxpayers paid 400 billion dollars worth of interest to bankers on behalf of the national debt because Congress refuses to spend within it's means. Of course, this number can only rise. Four hundred billion buys a lot of admission tickets and pointy hats.
I point this out every time I hear one of their water boys tell me that we have to pay for the cost of these venues. I tell them, I have already paid.
In fact, I'll be paying again this week. Tuesday to be precise.
The solution of course is for the Federal Government to get out of our lives. Refund some of the tax money they have been seizing from citizens so that we can put out a fire once in awhile and decide how to administer our own lands. Return tourist destinations to state control or allow states to best collaborate on how to administer their own tourist venues. Local control makes a lot of sense. Chief Executives, like Governors and state legislatures can decide what to do with lands within their borders and let the residents of that state select governance based on how well they manage those things. Without the spectre of Federal government interference.
Texas is so lucky. Not one acre of BLM land. No confrontations.
I'm not against government- I'm just against bad government. I'm not against Federal Government- but I am against a Federal Government that thinks it has the authority to do anything it wants and is quite willing to attempt to do so. I'm proud that Americans and militia men took a stand and asserted their rights as free men to assemble this week.
Now we are beginning to understand why Homeland Security bought all of that ammunition.
Can you name one society or culture anywhere that perished because they removed layers of redundant government? I can't. But I can sure name cultures that were obliterated because they ignored the creep of central planners.
I gotta tell ya, I know that area of Nevada near Mesquite pretty well. I have traveled through that desert many times including the back highways on my motorcycle. Sand, snakes, scorpions, and a few rabbits. A lot of cactus, rocks, and scrub brush. It's a tough, very hot place. As you look out at the terrain, it's hard to imagine that any of it really needs any managing at all. It's not like there are enormous herds of cows devouring the vegetation and tiptoeing on the backs of desert tortoises. It's not like that at all. It is an immense place- completely barren and unpopulated.
That desert has survived quite nicely just the way that it is. I think it will continue to do so with or without the Bureau of Land Management, cows, or desert tortoises.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
The Lessons Of Wounded Knee- The Sunday Collage
The midday sun was beating down on me. I wear a do rag on my head mostly because I have no hair to hide my scalp anymore. In high winds, the rag helps keep my sun glass frames where they should be and keeps my scalp from turning into beef jerky. Thank God in this state, I still have the freedom to decide what to wear- at least for a little while longer.
Can you imagine Custer wearing a helmet?
Every time I am here, I have this spiritual feeling that floods over me- like I have been here long ago. Just like the first time. I don't know what to call that- but it is undeniable. On two wheels, Spearfish Canyon is one of the most beautiful venues there is. I am due south and east, traveling to a little town called Pine Ridge. They don't like me there. I am white. The young Indians flash vitriolic looks my way and then quickly look away. The defiant ones just stare at you. You can feel the hatred and the years of Indian indoctrination. I am a trespasser here. The hate is tangible. I am some hideous reminder of what happened to them once. A wound that will never heal. In the old days, I just hated them back. Like the Crows. I find an old woman who will talk to me. She gives me the final directions to Wounded Knee. Due east, turn left at some billboard. It is no more than 15 miles and I am there. In awe.
This was the first time.
There is a hill with a little cemetery at the top with an arch. The graves have coins, cigarettes, and six packs of beer on them. There are manufactured homes nearby. At the base of the hill on the highway- there is a giant, green, wrought iron sign that tells somebody's version of what happened here 110 years ago. Scrawled on the sign, in black grease pen, somebody has written "lies." The sign has been shot several times. There is no monument, no light colored brick building where the government charges you 20 bucks to park and renders their version of what happened that winter of 1890. Two old Sioux women are selling dream catchers and jewelry from the back of pickup trucks near the sign on a dirt turn out. I made a mistake. I asked them where the "battlefield" was. One woman pointed a crooked and wrinkled index finger north towards the hillside. The other says, "there was no battle."
So I did the unthinkable. I asked what happened and she told me. That would never happen nowadays because people are too afraid to even strike up a conversation. She said that the government had offered millions to the tribe to buy the venue and do what they always do. Tell their version of events. But the Sioux nation said no. They had not taken the bribe.
I mulled that over briefly. About 15 years now. I have been back so many times, that I can no longer remember one trip distinctly. They have all merged into one single and good memory wherein I cannot distinguish the true from the false. It is better that way I think.
History has always been told by the winners. Except here. Black Elk was present when Custer was killed. He survived Wounded Knee. And because someone had the vision to speak with him- history was told by the vanquished in "Black Elk Speaks." The American military handed out medals for slaughtering the Sioux that day- and counted up their own dead. Sans the proper autopsies, the notoriously inaccurate and lead spraying Hotchkiss guns of the US Cavalry probably accounted for most if not all, of the soldier fatalities that day- although undoubtedly the Sioux took the initial blame.
The government covers up friendly fire deaths. It is one of those embarrassing and inconvenient things that we do and continue to do. Like the death of Pat Tilman and the odd circumstances surrounding the deaths of Seal Team 6 fresh from the execution of Bin Laden- all on one chopper.
Sioux nation doesn't tolerate government bullshit like we do. They are still pissed that the United States government handed out those 20 Medals of Honor to cowardly men with no restraint- who slaughtered women and children.
I can't imagine why the Sioux didn't turn over the keys to Uncle Sam.
I read "Black Elk Speaks" as a young man. So I've always had a little distrust for government. That seemed to grow over the years as I discovered the history of central banking, FDR's seizure of our citizens gold, and the imprisoning of Japanese Americans without due process. It continued through the fraud of the Gulf of Tonkin, the war in Vietnam, Nixon and Watergate, CIA plots to kill foreign leaders, Reagan's creation of the Presidents Working Group on Financial Markets aka the Plunge Protection Team which rigs what are supposed to be "free" markets to this very day. The Bush family weapons of mass destruction, the Clintons who solicited bribes, beat Whitewater, Vince Foster, cattle future scandals, and pardoned over 300 convicted criminals and stole some White House furnishings as they departed. And this latest buffoon. This guy is so full of shit- that as a nation- we can't even figure out if he is a citizen, a Muslim, where and how he got his social security number, and rather than hold this liar's feet to the fire- we have a whole nation of enabling sycophants that look the other way and ridicule us for asking questions.
Perhaps Edward Snowden read Black Elk Speaks.
Given the track record of our government, a picture begins to take shape for those of us card carrying members with just a minimal amount of consciousness and comprehension skills. That club by the way, is shrinking.
So call me a nut job- but I don't trust my own government. Not in the slightest. I understand human nature and I understand what happens when power meets authority. And I don't trust the majority of Americans, either. I think they are the most uneducated, superficial, apathetic, self absorbed people on the planet and their blind obedience to a proven and dishonest government scares me. If you are a regular reader here, you are probably excluded.
My first visit to Wounded Knee left me wondering why my government hadn't preserved that place. Fifteen years later- I get it and I celebrate Sioux Nation giving Washington the finger. Think treaties.http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/08/pine-ridge/fuller-text
Can you imagine Custer wearing a helmet?
Every time I am here, I have this spiritual feeling that floods over me- like I have been here long ago. Just like the first time. I don't know what to call that- but it is undeniable. On two wheels, Spearfish Canyon is one of the most beautiful venues there is. I am due south and east, traveling to a little town called Pine Ridge. They don't like me there. I am white. The young Indians flash vitriolic looks my way and then quickly look away. The defiant ones just stare at you. You can feel the hatred and the years of Indian indoctrination. I am a trespasser here. The hate is tangible. I am some hideous reminder of what happened to them once. A wound that will never heal. In the old days, I just hated them back. Like the Crows. I find an old woman who will talk to me. She gives me the final directions to Wounded Knee. Due east, turn left at some billboard. It is no more than 15 miles and I am there. In awe.
This was the first time.
There is a hill with a little cemetery at the top with an arch. The graves have coins, cigarettes, and six packs of beer on them. There are manufactured homes nearby. At the base of the hill on the highway- there is a giant, green, wrought iron sign that tells somebody's version of what happened here 110 years ago. Scrawled on the sign, in black grease pen, somebody has written "lies." The sign has been shot several times. There is no monument, no light colored brick building where the government charges you 20 bucks to park and renders their version of what happened that winter of 1890. Two old Sioux women are selling dream catchers and jewelry from the back of pickup trucks near the sign on a dirt turn out. I made a mistake. I asked them where the "battlefield" was. One woman pointed a crooked and wrinkled index finger north towards the hillside. The other says, "there was no battle."
So I did the unthinkable. I asked what happened and she told me. That would never happen nowadays because people are too afraid to even strike up a conversation. She said that the government had offered millions to the tribe to buy the venue and do what they always do. Tell their version of events. But the Sioux nation said no. They had not taken the bribe.
I mulled that over briefly. About 15 years now. I have been back so many times, that I can no longer remember one trip distinctly. They have all merged into one single and good memory wherein I cannot distinguish the true from the false. It is better that way I think.
History has always been told by the winners. Except here. Black Elk was present when Custer was killed. He survived Wounded Knee. And because someone had the vision to speak with him- history was told by the vanquished in "Black Elk Speaks." The American military handed out medals for slaughtering the Sioux that day- and counted up their own dead. Sans the proper autopsies, the notoriously inaccurate and lead spraying Hotchkiss guns of the US Cavalry probably accounted for most if not all, of the soldier fatalities that day- although undoubtedly the Sioux took the initial blame.
The government covers up friendly fire deaths. It is one of those embarrassing and inconvenient things that we do and continue to do. Like the death of Pat Tilman and the odd circumstances surrounding the deaths of Seal Team 6 fresh from the execution of Bin Laden- all on one chopper.
Sioux nation doesn't tolerate government bullshit like we do. They are still pissed that the United States government handed out those 20 Medals of Honor to cowardly men with no restraint- who slaughtered women and children.
I can't imagine why the Sioux didn't turn over the keys to Uncle Sam.
I read "Black Elk Speaks" as a young man. So I've always had a little distrust for government. That seemed to grow over the years as I discovered the history of central banking, FDR's seizure of our citizens gold, and the imprisoning of Japanese Americans without due process. It continued through the fraud of the Gulf of Tonkin, the war in Vietnam, Nixon and Watergate, CIA plots to kill foreign leaders, Reagan's creation of the Presidents Working Group on Financial Markets aka the Plunge Protection Team which rigs what are supposed to be "free" markets to this very day. The Bush family weapons of mass destruction, the Clintons who solicited bribes, beat Whitewater, Vince Foster, cattle future scandals, and pardoned over 300 convicted criminals and stole some White House furnishings as they departed. And this latest buffoon. This guy is so full of shit- that as a nation- we can't even figure out if he is a citizen, a Muslim, where and how he got his social security number, and rather than hold this liar's feet to the fire- we have a whole nation of enabling sycophants that look the other way and ridicule us for asking questions.
Perhaps Edward Snowden read Black Elk Speaks.
Given the track record of our government, a picture begins to take shape for those of us card carrying members with just a minimal amount of consciousness and comprehension skills. That club by the way, is shrinking.
So call me a nut job- but I don't trust my own government. Not in the slightest. I understand human nature and I understand what happens when power meets authority. And I don't trust the majority of Americans, either. I think they are the most uneducated, superficial, apathetic, self absorbed people on the planet and their blind obedience to a proven and dishonest government scares me. If you are a regular reader here, you are probably excluded.
My first visit to Wounded Knee left me wondering why my government hadn't preserved that place. Fifteen years later- I get it and I celebrate Sioux Nation giving Washington the finger. Think treaties.http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/08/pine-ridge/fuller-text
“Never has America lost a war ... But name, if you can, the last
peace the United States won. Victory yes, but this country has never
made a successful peace because peace requires exchanging ideas,
concepts, thoughts, and recognizing the fact that two distinct systems
of life can exist together without conflict. Consider how quickly
America seems to be facing its allies of one war as new enemies.”
― Vine Deloria Jr., Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto
― Vine Deloria Jr., Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto
My
friend, I am going to tell you the story of my life, as you wish; and
if it were only the story of my life I think I would not tell it; for
what is one man that he should make much of his winters, even when they
bend him like a heavy snow?
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/black_elk.html#2Tc53c84wobpJ4X0.99
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/black_elk.html#2Tc53c84wobpJ4X0.99
My
friend, I am going to tell you the story of my life, as you wish; and
if it were only the story of my life I think I would not tell it; for
what is one man that he should make much of his winters, even when they
bend him like a heavy snow?
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/black_elk.html#2Tc53c84wobpJ4X0.99
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/black_elk.html#2Tc53c84wobpJ4X0.99
My
friend, I am going to tell you the story of my life, as you wish; and
if it were only the story of my life I think I would not tell it; for
what is one man that he should make much of his winters, even when they
bend him like a heavy snow?
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/black_elk.html#2Tc53c84wobpJ4X0.99
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/black_elk.html#2Tc53c84wobpJ4X0.99
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Enemy Mine- The Sunday Collage
I can hardly believe it's been 30 years but it has been. Sometime in 1985, a movie was released called "Enemy Mine." It was a science fiction flick about two warring worlds- ours and an alien force. During an aerial or interstellar dogfight, two opposing fighter pilots get shot down and land on another planet. Eventually they make nice with each other when they discover that there are other, more deadly, adversaries trying to kill them. On this planet, they discovered there were far greater enemies than each other.
They were taught to hate each other because their culture had indoctrinated them with this belief.
Of course the belief was nonsense. That was the point of the story.
The American people have been indoctrinated with the same foolishness. It is called "Democrat vs. Republican or liberals vs. conservatives."
Why is that? Is it just human nature to identify with one tribe and hate the other? Yes, actually I think that is part of it. Opposing ideology is the yin and yang of our existence. Unfortunately, while we are all caught up in this fight without end- the real enemy hides in the shadows and snickers. The real enemy could care less about gay rights, abortions, the environment. The real enemy actually feeds on those types of distractions- pitting one side against the other.
It is a game for fools. Like arguing with atheists or religious zealots.
There are literally millions of people fully invested in this epic struggle while the real enemy- laughs at all the suckers. Suckers are obsessed with capital punishment, abortion, or any number of unsolvable issues. It's not that those issues aren't important per se- it's just that each of these issues and many more- provide fuel to keep the opposing tribes fighting while the educated and elite, the crony capitalists, steal everything in sight.
This week I'd like to turn you on to one of my favorite blogs, "A Lightning War for Liberty." The author, Michael Kreiger, gets it. Krieger himself is a fascinating kid. Young enough to be my son. Extremely rich.
What Krieger understands, all too well, is that the real enemy of the American people is not some ridiculous philosophy. The real enemy in America is a corporate oligarchy that has bought and paid for our millionaire Congress all of whom practice- crony capitalism. They have literally ruined the Republic. I say ruined in the past tense.
Here's a fantastic piece from Mike on corporate welfare. http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2014/03/28/the-new-york-times-covers-oligarch-welfare-tax-breaks-for-private-planes-yachts-and-more/
Crony capitalism got it's start with lobbyists and bribes. It was facilitated by a Congress without term limits- Congressmen and women who stay in power seemingly forever and who get greased with all kinds of goodies like free loans from Angelo Mozilo at Countrywide. Or lucrative job offers, trips, speaking engagements, stock tips, and gawd knows what else. All that is required is a vote here or there. The rest gets taken care of.
It is no wonder why the Congressmen and women in power absolutely refuse to relinquish that power. They are the greediest, most self centered sociopaths that ever drew a breath. They literally laugh at the concept of public service. With a 10% approval rate-a normal functioning adult might try and do something to improve that image or heaven forbid- quit.
Not this crew of self seeking assholes.
One example. The tax code. Can you imagine the goodwill Congress could get as a group if they engaged in a fair tax? The American people would love them. Why don't they do it? Because every one of these millionaire Congressmen, every one of their rich banker buddies and crony capitalist friends- benefits from the tax code just the way that it is. So why would any of you think there is a snowball's chance in hell of ever getting tax reform?
There's not.
All of this greed gets greased by the greatest crony capitalists of all- the Federal Reserve and it's member banks and Wall Street investment houses. The banking cartel. They hijacked our tax money, bailed out their buddies, and have engaged in the greatest counterfeiting and inflation scandal of the last two centuries. Manipulating every market from libor rates to gold.
So do you really think the enemy is some liberal driving a Prius who thinks the ACA is a good deal? Some guy that thinks corporate welfare is out of control and blames the GOP? Or do you think the enemy is some conservative who thinks abortion is murder? Or who thinks atheists are idiots?
The sad truth is that Americans don't have a clue who the real enemy is. The enemy is the people who have hijacked your work product, who are diluting and ruining your currency, who have bribed your Congressmen with all sorts of promises implied and overt- and who are blowing the greatest stock market bubble of all time. The crony capitalists are in control of the media, the price of oil, and they are rigging markets with the help of the agencies that are supposed to be regulating them. It's never, ever, been this bad.
The new age crony capitalists, the elite, have been waging war on the hoi polloi and we've been too busy fighting amongst ourselves to realize who the real enemy is. Warren Buffett says the war is over- his side won and he's not referring to republicans or democrats. I hate to give the old robber baron any props but this time- I think he's right.
They were taught to hate each other because their culture had indoctrinated them with this belief.
Of course the belief was nonsense. That was the point of the story.
The American people have been indoctrinated with the same foolishness. It is called "Democrat vs. Republican or liberals vs. conservatives."
Why is that? Is it just human nature to identify with one tribe and hate the other? Yes, actually I think that is part of it. Opposing ideology is the yin and yang of our existence. Unfortunately, while we are all caught up in this fight without end- the real enemy hides in the shadows and snickers. The real enemy could care less about gay rights, abortions, the environment. The real enemy actually feeds on those types of distractions- pitting one side against the other.
It is a game for fools. Like arguing with atheists or religious zealots.
There are literally millions of people fully invested in this epic struggle while the real enemy- laughs at all the suckers. Suckers are obsessed with capital punishment, abortion, or any number of unsolvable issues. It's not that those issues aren't important per se- it's just that each of these issues and many more- provide fuel to keep the opposing tribes fighting while the educated and elite, the crony capitalists, steal everything in sight.
This week I'd like to turn you on to one of my favorite blogs, "A Lightning War for Liberty." The author, Michael Kreiger, gets it. Krieger himself is a fascinating kid. Young enough to be my son. Extremely rich.
What Krieger understands, all too well, is that the real enemy of the American people is not some ridiculous philosophy. The real enemy in America is a corporate oligarchy that has bought and paid for our millionaire Congress all of whom practice- crony capitalism. They have literally ruined the Republic. I say ruined in the past tense.
Here's a fantastic piece from Mike on corporate welfare. http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2014/03/28/the-new-york-times-covers-oligarch-welfare-tax-breaks-for-private-planes-yachts-and-more/
Crony capitalism got it's start with lobbyists and bribes. It was facilitated by a Congress without term limits- Congressmen and women who stay in power seemingly forever and who get greased with all kinds of goodies like free loans from Angelo Mozilo at Countrywide. Or lucrative job offers, trips, speaking engagements, stock tips, and gawd knows what else. All that is required is a vote here or there. The rest gets taken care of.
It is no wonder why the Congressmen and women in power absolutely refuse to relinquish that power. They are the greediest, most self centered sociopaths that ever drew a breath. They literally laugh at the concept of public service. With a 10% approval rate-a normal functioning adult might try and do something to improve that image or heaven forbid- quit.
Not this crew of self seeking assholes.
One example. The tax code. Can you imagine the goodwill Congress could get as a group if they engaged in a fair tax? The American people would love them. Why don't they do it? Because every one of these millionaire Congressmen, every one of their rich banker buddies and crony capitalist friends- benefits from the tax code just the way that it is. So why would any of you think there is a snowball's chance in hell of ever getting tax reform?
There's not.
All of this greed gets greased by the greatest crony capitalists of all- the Federal Reserve and it's member banks and Wall Street investment houses. The banking cartel. They hijacked our tax money, bailed out their buddies, and have engaged in the greatest counterfeiting and inflation scandal of the last two centuries. Manipulating every market from libor rates to gold.
So do you really think the enemy is some liberal driving a Prius who thinks the ACA is a good deal? Some guy that thinks corporate welfare is out of control and blames the GOP? Or do you think the enemy is some conservative who thinks abortion is murder? Or who thinks atheists are idiots?
The sad truth is that Americans don't have a clue who the real enemy is. The enemy is the people who have hijacked your work product, who are diluting and ruining your currency, who have bribed your Congressmen with all sorts of promises implied and overt- and who are blowing the greatest stock market bubble of all time. The crony capitalists are in control of the media, the price of oil, and they are rigging markets with the help of the agencies that are supposed to be regulating them. It's never, ever, been this bad.
The new age crony capitalists, the elite, have been waging war on the hoi polloi and we've been too busy fighting amongst ourselves to realize who the real enemy is. Warren Buffett says the war is over- his side won and he's not referring to republicans or democrats. I hate to give the old robber baron any props but this time- I think he's right.
Monday, March 24, 2014
We May Be Thieves, But We Are Honorable Thieves
If it wasn't so absurd, it wouldn't even be newsworthy.
The latest Edward Snowden revelation is that the NSA hacked into a Chinese telecomm provider to look for "bag guys." That's the cover explanation from an agency which isn't exactly known for telling the truth. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2014/03/beijing-condemns-us-over-spying-huawei-2014324103530957966.html
The United States Government or more specifically, the NSA- doesn't even try to lie anymore. Snowden owns them and he can prove his statements. Denial is no longer their first reaction.
Because they know Snowden has the goods on them- the NSA's explanation for hacking into foreign, private businesses is that they are simply looking for bad guys and....get this...
They don't turn over the information they steal to American telecomm competitors. Like those Chinese spies do. So the inference is clear.
We are honorable thieves.
The latest Edward Snowden revelation is that the NSA hacked into a Chinese telecomm provider to look for "bag guys." That's the cover explanation from an agency which isn't exactly known for telling the truth. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2014/03/beijing-condemns-us-over-spying-huawei-2014324103530957966.html
The United States Government or more specifically, the NSA- doesn't even try to lie anymore. Snowden owns them and he can prove his statements. Denial is no longer their first reaction.
Because they know Snowden has the goods on them- the NSA's explanation for hacking into foreign, private businesses is that they are simply looking for bad guys and....get this...
They don't turn over the information they steal to American telecomm competitors. Like those Chinese spies do. So the inference is clear.
We are honorable thieves.
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