NEWS AND VIEWS

It is still dark outside as I type this. The mornings are getting longer as we progress into Fall. Happens every year. And it is still dark in outer society. The light of truth does not shine much at all, if any. The media has not told the public the truth about what is happening in the world. The media has sold out to the moneyed interests and the politicians. They have become whores, just shills for the establishment. Like Gerald Celente says, we don't have a recovery, we have a cover-up. One of my commenters yesterday said he knew people still believed the fedgov was bringing us out of this mess. The only point of fact missing from the social equation was that the system CAN'T be brought out of the mess it is in. It has to collapse and build itself back up. The days of unlimited growth are over. The resource and the need are both lacking. China is trying to stimulate itself into maintaining prosperity but there are some surprises in store for them. Japan is casting about for a solution to it's personal misfortune and is getting ready to join up with China. Japan has been in the tank for 20 years and cannot get the handle to restore it's former financial glory. Europe is having trouble with it's old ways and the new standards. Iceland is completely in the tank and the Baltic countries are not far behind. Italy and Spain are next to go and then it will probably be England, France, and Germany. Russia is still beating the drum and signaling it is still a superpower, but I have my doubts. They were pretty super when they got $147 a barrel for their oil but at $70 dollars a barrel they are not doing so well. The USA has got all of it's Gulf of Mexico oil wells capped and non-productive. Ain't enough money to be made to warrant keeping the open. And I have been sitting on my ass and not getting much accomplished either. Gotta work on that today. After breakfast. And as soon as I get the word on planting Fall garlic. I'll need the garlic no matter what the oil market does. Some decisions are just that cut and dried. I am losing weight at a very nice pace and I need to keep my immune system built up. That would be a good formula for Obama to use on the US economy. Lose weight and build up it's immune system. Not likely, however.

Not much in the news, of course. It is a holiday and there is no action being taken that the media thinks is worthy of our attention. That means we are getting screwed behind closed doors. We peons are the last to know. But given a chance to discuss and debate the intentions of the fedgov usually ends up being a negative experience for our political class. And good show, I say. I talked to my friend Charles Bell this morning and he is in about the same place I am. He has made up his mind that we are about to suffer a bad nasty and he has done all he can to prep for it and now he just has to wait it out. But it has exhausted him. He is tired and lustless. But he keeps waking up at 0400 hrs every morning and not being very successful going back to sleep. I am having attacks of the same virus. I wake up somewhere between 3:30 and 4:30 most mornings and don't feel like trying to go back to sleep. I would not find it difficult to imagine that quite a few preppers are going through the same thing. All I can tell you is hang on and keep the faith. Develop what skills you can and accomplish what preps you can. You will be glad you did.

The Handmaiden just got back from the garden and brought me a very large RED Cayenne Pepper. I am hoping we have something for supper tonight that calls for a little extra vigor in it's flavoring. I will be cutting up my pepper to handle the call. The Handmaiden brought back several bags of Roma tomatoes and is now engaged in slicing them up and putting them on her dehydrator trays. We are getting a huge investment involved in dried fruits and vegetables. It should work for us and we think it will. She seasons the tomato quarters with Salt, Oregano, and Garlic powder and then dries them. Delicious. Not too strong but very tasty. She also told me that the Cranberry beans MUST come out of the garden or we will not be able to find them when the are ready. If they are too moist to shell out properly then we will just have to dry them on the porch for a couple days. It will give the cats something to bitch about. So Romas are getting dried and all is well in our household. Life ain't too bad when you can taste fresh tomatoes out of a plastic bag! And dried at that. I also had her bring me out another bag of beef jerky. She didn't refuse or throw a fuss but I could tell she was having evil thoughts about it and I said as much. She told me that the jerky is supposed to be packed away and I told her I was packing it away at a fairly good clip. She didn't see the humor in that remark to the extent I did, but she went along with the program. I suspect I will be buying more beef soon enough. A big Butternut Squash just went into the oven for the making of our supper. I love Butternut Squash. Butter, salt, and pepper and you are in for some good eating.

Stay alive.

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net