Survivalism Therapy for Frustrated Libertarians

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Peace Chicken
on May 22, 2009
in political
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January 20th, 2009 is not a day I want to commemorate with a collector’s plate, it was a very depressing day for me.

I watched on the TV at work as millions of people went hysterical over the new President. Hanging on his every teleprompted word, it was obvious that this man would be able to do whatever he wanted and most Americans would eat it up and not question a thing. After all our efforts to get the word out about Ron Paul and the complete falsity of the Left/Right paradigm, it was nothing but salt in my wounds. How could people fall for such obvious empty rhetoric and lies?

I could question the thought processes of these people forever, but it doesn’t matter, it’s too late. Here it is more than 100 days later and nothing has changed (for the better.) The millions who passionately voted for a new leader (who would be soooo different than Bush) are silent about the fact that we STILL have both wars (plus a new one on the horizon), way more debt/spending, way more taxes, way more unemployment, the same people in charge, and the exact same foreign policy. They will never, ever admit he’s the same as Bush. And McCain. The complete and utter denial means no demand to change direction. They insist we HAVE changed direction. Man, is that Kool Aid strong. The hypocrisy infuriates me to no end. Some of my friends are still arguing “he’s better than McCain” and “that’s Bush’s fault, give him more time” and I’ll admit, I have a hard time not resenting them. I really thought they were smarter than that. I don’t give a s–t if his skin is dark, that’s not an excuse to throw accountability and the Constitution out the window. Everything that was bad when Bush did it is magically okay and excusable because it’s a Democrat doing it now?! The power of political parties is astonishing.

Reality check. Give him all the time you want, but Obama’s not going to fix ANYTHING, and we as a country CAN’T go on this way forever. We can’t spend ourselves out of these problems and empty rhetoric doesn’t feed anyone or stop the bombing.

People, especially my generation, are so dependent on Government, they expect it to solve all their problems (I used to expect it too.) They want the Government to educate their children, pay their mortgage, control their food, control their medicine, regulate their sports, cover their mouths when they sneeze, read the fine print of their credit card contracts, save the environment, provide health care, take care of them in their old age, etc… the list goes on for miles. Too few recognize that “a government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take everything you have” (Thomas Jefferson.)

As I conveyed in my Fifth Stage post, I’m still mad as hell, but I’ve resigned myself to the fact that people will remain ignorant no matter what. Government is going to get bigger and more evil. The s–t will hit the fan. I’ve tried, but I can’t change those things. But I’ve learned that I CAN do things to take myself and my family out of the equation. All hell may still break loose at any time, the market could nosedive tomorrow, but I won’t be a part of the freaked out mob that’s storming Wal-Mart for food and relying on FEMA after a couple days.

I credit that achievement to a show called The Survival Podcast, by Jack Spirko, which was introduced to me by a good friend shortly after the inauguration.

It’s a daily podcast about modern day survivalism. The phrase sounds a bit dramatic perhaps, but it’s really just learning how to cultivate independence — and doesn’t that fit well with libertarianism? Independence on every scale possible: financial, energy, food, every system you can think of. When you remove your dependence on these systems, you automatically improve your life and experience true liberty. You create a life that the Government can’t touch. It’s no surprise the idea is catching on in the libertarian community, even Lew Rockwell is posting articles about it.

Because of this show, in a few months I’ve been able to make plans and take actions that will insure me and my loved one’s survival for at least a few months if something goes wrong, hopefully even longer. It is SO reassuring to know I do NOT have to rely on local, state, or federal gov’t. for food, water, or safety in the event of martial law, flu outbreak, etc. It’s a satisfying middle finger to The System. Finally! I can feel productive in the midst of this depressing and helpless time.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

- Lao Tzu

I’d like to point out: when I first jumped into this, it was VERY intimidating. Maybe it’s just my personality, but I was overwhelmed by all the things some survivalists have done, my little steps felt stupid in comparison. The key is to know yourself, your needs, and your abilities, then adapt your plans accordingly. Anything is better than nothing. Just start small. Plant an organic garden. Start storing food and water. Save up some cash, ditch the credit cards. There are a ton of online resources and plenty of books on this subject, start reading.

Listen to episode 165 on threat probability and threat impacts and you’ll learn the importance of thinking logically when you make plans and take action. For example, it’s more likely that something is going to impact your life on a personal/local scale (job loss, etc.) rather than global nuclear annihilation, so make plans for that before you invest in an underground bomb shelter. Remembering that helps me maintain perspective and not feel overwhelmed.

It’s all about simplification, adaptation, and gradually opting out of the various systems on which you’re dependent. Once you start the learning process, it’s amazing how much you find you’re reliant on others. Do you know how to grow your own food? Get yourself clean water to drink? Start a fire without a lighter? We’ve become so used to consuming services and products (thank you China!), we’ve lost many of these important skills. It’s time to reclaim them, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

If my post isn’t motivating enough, here are a couple good articles highlighting the importance and benefits of becoming a modern day survivalist:

If you decide to start taking steps to cultivate your independence, congratulations! You should feel proud.  Or— if you’d prefer to ignore all of this and come knocking on my door when the s–t hits the fan, that’s fine — I’ll be glad to direct you to the nearest FEMA facility.

Two Powerful Visualizations for Animal Rights

Published
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Peace Chicken
on April 22, 2009
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Often times numbers alone won’t penetrate the hearts of people who refuse to feel compassion for animals. Massive amounts of death mean nothing to them, they’re unfazed. That’s when powerful visualizations can be a big help.

The two I’m sharing below were created by Mark Middleton, an artist, web developer, and animal advocate who’s posted them for public use at his website: AnimalVisuals.org.

The first makes use of statistics from the USDA NASS Livestock Slaughter 2008 Summary, showing how many animals were killed PER SECOND in the United States last year:

The second visualization is a “Virtual Battery Cage” which gives you the perspective of a “layer” hen (the ones who supply with cheap eggs for omelets and McMuffins) in a factory farm. Press play and you’ll become one of those chickens, crammed in a wire cage with no space to open your wings, no room or material on which to comfortably lay down, no windows, no natural light, sick and/or dead chickens next to you, and the deafening noise of suffering is all you can hear.

There is NOTHING natural about the way these chickens live, it’s pretty much hell:

Thank you to Mark for creating these visualizations, I hope other activists find and use them on their own websites and outreach projects.

* Thanks to @veggietweets and @liberationbc on Twitter for directing me to this.

Tax Day Tea Party Eve

Published
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Peace Chicken
on April 14, 2009
in political
. 1 Comment

The Internet’s ready to burst with all the talk of tomorrow’s nationwide Tea Party Tax Day protests.

I’ve decided I’ll check out the Columbus Tea Party after work to see the turnout for myself. This will be my first time attending a rally that’s NOT comprised mostly of Democrats. In fact, I’ll probably be surrounded by some of the same people who glared angrily at my signs during previous protests I’ve attended the past 6 years.

I’m keeping my expectations pretty low because it looks as though the Tea Party trend has been hijacked by right-wing Neo-Cons who are bitter that it’s a Democrat doing all the spending and bombing and not another Republican. Where were they when Bush had the credit card? In the same cave the anti-war activists are now hiding in, on the Island of Hypocrisy I presume.

For the record, 9/11 Truthers brought back the Tea Party protest idea in 2006, and the Ron Paul Revolution did it a year later. I’m honored to have been a part of both. So I’ll admit, I was excited about the Tax Day Tea Parties at first, but now the media is paying attention (so you know something’s up), the Neo-Cons are on board, Democrats are waging counter-attacks — the point is GONE, the focus is already lost.

It was never supposed to be about Left vs Right, Liberal vs Conservative, Democrat vs Republican, or any divisive label vs another divisive label. It was supposed to be about LIBERTY and FREEDOM. The right to live your life on whichever side of the aisle feels right to you, free from government intervention and mob rule.

It’s not about Sin Tax or Fair Tax or Carbon Tax , it’s about NO tax. It’s not about money for food stamps and abortions instead of bankers and war, it’s about NONE of them getting federal funding. It’s not about Obama’s budget or Obama’s deficit, it’s about ALL budgets and ALL deficits. Yes, I can’t f#@$ng stand Obama’s doublespeak rhetoric or his mindless sheep that excuse every hypocritical move he makes. But I couldn’t stand Bush’s doublespeak either. Taxes, debt, socialism, fascism, communism, Big Government, war, tyranny — those things are NEVER OKAY, whether it’s Bush or Obama sitting in the White House.

In this game of protesting and partisan outrage we keep rotating teams every 4-8 years instead of crying foul and storming the field TOGETHER. Well I’m done playing! Time to demolish the stadium and cure the disease altogether. We must declare ourselves FREE agents, not owned by any team.

WE — Americans — must step outside of this pathetic paradigm of controlled opposition and see what is happening off the field while we’re busy chasing each other around the bases. That, dear Comrades, would be a true Revolution.

This Easter, Go Veg.

Published
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Peace Chicken
on April 10, 2009
in political
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People keep asking me what I’m doing for Easter this weekend. I’ll tell you what I’m NOT doing — I’m not gonna eat a plate full of ham. Here’s why:

  • As babies, piglets are subjected to painful mutilations without anesthesia or pain relievers. Their tails are cut off to minimize tail biting, an aberrant behavior which occurs when these highly intelligent animals are kept in deprived factory farm environments.
  • At 2 to 3 weeks of age, the piglets are taken away from their mothers, by which time, approximately 15% will have died. The surviving piglets are crowded into pens with metal bars and concrete floors.
  • The air in hog factories is laden with dust, dander, and noxious gases which are produced by the animals’ urine and feces … respiratory disease is rampant.
  • Modern breeding sows live a continuous cycle of impregnation and birth, having more than 20 piglets per year. After being impregnated, the sows are confined in small pens or metal gestation crates which are just 2 feet wide. At the end of their 4 month pregnancy, they are transferred to farrowing crates to give birth. They barely have room to stand up and lie down, and many suffer from sores on their shoulders.
  • Prior to being hung upside down by their back legs and bled to death at the slaughterhouse, pigs are supposed to be ’stunned’ and rendered unconscious. However, ’stunning’ is terribly imprecise, and this results in conscious animals hanging upside down, kicking and struggling, while a slaughterhouse worker tries to ’stick’ them in the neck with a knife. If the worker is unsuccessful, the pig will be carried to the next station on the slaughterhouse assembly line, the scalding tank, where he/she will be boiled alive.
  • And more…

Watch the video below. The WHOLE thing. If you can’t stand to watch it, how can you stand to EAT it?

I’ll be honest, I hope that made you lose your appetite. I hope you look down at your plate stacked with ham on Sunday and a queasy feeling quells up inside your stomach and you opt for seconds on the pasta salad instead. This would be a good sign, it means you have feelings! It also means it’s time to examine what happens to your food before it arrives beautifully packaged on Easter Sunday. There is nothing honey-baked about the path on which your cruel and inhumane feast traveled.

If you wouldn’t get up from your computer right now and go inflict all this torture on a pig directly, why is it okay to have somebody else do it while you’re not looking?

Also, there’s every reason to believe that Jesus was a vegetarian:

The Garden of Eden, God’s perfect world, was vegetarian (Gen. 1:29-30). Immediately, God calls this ideal and non-exploitative relationship “good” (Gen. 1:31). There follow many years of fallen humanity, when people held slaves, waged war, ate animals and committed various other violent acts. But the prophets tell us that the peaceable kingdom will be nonviolent and vegetarian; even the lion will lie down with the lamb (e.g., Isaiah 11). Jesus is the Prince of Peace, who ushers in this new age of nonviolence. When Christians pray, “Your will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven,” the one prayer given to us by Jesus, this obligates us to change our lives, to make choices that are as merciful and loving as possible. There will be no factory farms and slaughterhouses in heaven.

Jesus’ message is one of love and compassion, yet there is nothing loving or compassionate about factory farms and slaughterhouses, where billions of animals live miserable lives and die violent, bloody deaths. Jesus mandates kindness, mercy, compassion, and love for all God’s creation. He would be appalled by the degree of suffering we inflict on animals to indulge our acquired taste for their flesh.

Christians have a choice. When we sit down to eat, we can add to the level of violence, misery, and death in the world, or we can respect His creation with a vegetarian diet.

The choice is up to you. I hope you choose compassion, otherwise you might be missing the point of Jesus’ teachings, in which case — should you really be celebrating Easter?

“As for men, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Man’s fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal… All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return…”

- Ecclesiastes 3:18-20

P.S. Don’t even get me started on Easter eggs…

The Obama Deception

Published
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Peace Chicken
on March 18, 2009
in political
. 2 Comments

Change?

All the talk in the news today has been about AIG’s $165 million taxpayer-funded bonuses and how it has outraged Mr. Obama. It’s been a very effective distraction, indeed.

What the media ISN’T telling you is that Obama’s Stimulus Plan actually PROTECTS the AIG bonuses. Or that our National Debt has now gone past the $11 TRILLION mark ($50+ Trillion if you count unfunded obligations.) They’re also not mentioning that Mr. Obama is now traveling the country trying to convince the American public (pretending it’s their decision, after all) to accept his $3.6 TRILLION annual budget.

That’s a lot of numbers to process, I know, so let me put them into perspective: AIG’s $165 million is 0.0046% of Obama’s proposed $3.6 TRILLION annual budget and 0.0015% of the national debt. So yes, GET ANGRY. But not just at AIG. Throw your shoes at King Obama, his Majesty’s Court, and every member of Congress that rolls over for him.

To celebrate today’s Kool Aid Moment, I give my readers The Obama Deception, the latest documentary by Alex Jones that sums up the Obama Scam better than I ever could.

What I wouldn’t give to have my brainwashed friends watch this. Alas, I’ll settle for preaching to the choir.



(Don’t see the video? Click here.)

*Caution, don’t mention this film on Facebook or your account could get deleted.

The Future of America Can Be Experienced At The Airport

Published
by
Peace Chicken
on March 1, 2009
in political
. 1 Comment

A recent work trip reminded me that if you want a glimpse into the future of America, all you have to do is fly somewhere.

  • If you make it so far as getting your boarding pass, congratulations for not being on the No Fly list, which contains an estimated one million names.
  • Upon arriving at the security checkpoint, you get to strip down to your socks and if you’re lucky they let you keep your shirt and pants on. Cross your fingers as you step through the TSA scanners, hope a filling or metal grommet on your clothes doesn’t trigger a S.W.A.T. raid.
  • While your body is being checked for dangerous objects, another TSA agent will rifle through your belongings making sure you haven’t brought along anything dangerous, like 4 oz. or greater of face wash or lotion, which can spontaneously combust at high altitudes.
  • If you’re lucky enough to make it through security, you run a high risk of being checked by TSA agents again, usually a half hour before boarding. They’ll interrupt you while you’re reading or checking your email and will wear rubber gloves (in case you’ve suddenly contracted cooties) as they check your boarding pass.
  • Getting thirsty? Too bad you had to dump your drink at the security gate. Water collected outside the airport can spontaneously combust.
  • Fortunately, if you get thirsty or hungry while waiting to board you can visit one of many food chains located near the gate. But be prepared for hyper-inflation, as you are a captive audience. $5 for a bagel and $4 for coffee sounds about fair. But eat it FAST because it is not allowed on the plane, more spontaneous combustion risks. The peanuts and soda they pass out are specially treated and do not run this risk.
  • While waiting to board, you may find it hard to concentrate on a phone call or book because every five minutes you will be interrupted with a loud but friendly message from the Department of Homeland Security reminding you of the day’s current threat level. Five bucks says it’s orange. But DON’T BE ALARMED.
  • As you’re called to board the plane, you run the risk of being singled out AGAIN by a TSA agent for a random pat-down and boarding pass check. In case anything’s changed since the first three checks. They will also look at you menacingly, guilty until proven innocent, the American way.
  • Once on board the plane you will be offered a drink and food menu, but most items can only be acquired through electronic payment, no cash allowed.
  • All of these items will be outrageously priced, but you have no choice, you’re on this plane for hours and your drink from home was confiscated at the security checkpoint long ago.
  • If you survive all the previous steps, you should eventually arrive at your destination, feeling like a criminal that’s evaded capture yet again.
  • What a lovely experience that was! Hard to figure out why air travel is declining…

What have we learned from this little adventure? Hyperinflation, electronic currency, Fourth Amendment violations, and police-state surveillance tactics are all being tested at the great human laboratory we call the Airport.

You’ve probably already experienced these things throughout your day-to-day life, but that was nothing. Just wait til Airport mode comes out of beta — Homeland 2.0!

Oh yeah, and make sure your seat is in the upright position prior to landing. That 5 degree decline really distracts the pilot.

Obama, Remember That “Five Day Review” Promise?

Published
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Peace Chicken
on February 14, 2009
in political
. 0 Comments

I guess you’re CHANGEing some things huh? And here I doubted you.

Disclaimer: In my previous post I gave the impression I would completely stop being political. That’s not exactly the case. I can’t stop paying attention, stop caring completely, or stop being pi$$ed off because I still have a working brain and heart. But I AM drastically toning it down and sticking to the big stories. Most of the White Flag changes are happening offline, as Congress motivates me every day to spend less time pointing out the obvious and more time prepping for the culminating disaster. I no longer see light at the end of the tunnel, I see an oncoming train. If you want more news stories like I used to post, I suggest checking out my News page, where I’ll continue to highlight events and stories that deserve attention.

As I said, I’m sticking to the big stories now. And this Spendulus bill is REALLY big. Equal to a third of our annual budget, in fact. It is indeed the Democrats’ own Patriot Act (which Mr. Obama voted for in 2006):

Congress has done this before and apparently hasn’t learned their lesson. Another year, another Congress, another President. OBAMA = BUSH = CLINTON.

I’ve already ranted about how completely ineffective and wasteful this bill is, in fact it only got worse since that posting. But I haven’t yet mentioned how its passage is breaking an important campaign promise made by Obama back in 2007.

He LOVES to talk about transparency. It gets the zombies excited. So excited they forget to actually demand it.

BEFORE:

“When there is a bill that ends up on my desk as president, you will have five days to look online and find out what’s in it before I sign it.”

Barack Obama
June 22, 2007, Manchester, N.H.

AFTER:

“Approved earlier by the House, the [Spendulus] plan — which went through multiple permutations as it bounced back and forth on Capitol Hill over the past week — now goes to Obama’s desk, where he plans to sign it into law by Presidents Day.”

- CNN

B R O K E N .

The bill passed the Senate on Friday night and will be signed Monday? That’s 48 hours at the MOST. And why should we have to work on the weekend when the government doesn’t have to? Fortunately the bill is a light read, just 1,100 pages, so you only have to read 550 pages a day to finish it by Monday. If you read quicker than that, you’ll have enough time to write up some feedback to send to Obama beforehand, I’m sure he’ll take it into serious consideration.

I’d like to start reading except right now I can’t find it anywhere on Whitehouse.gov and there’s nothing on Recovery.gov. Found it, sort of, it wasn’t easy — plus one of their links is broken so only 998 pages will load. They’re even soliciting comments, acting like they actually care what you think. Not that it’ll make a difference, but tell them anyway, maybe we can blow up their server. Thank god for the people at ReadTheStimulus.org who are devoting their time to making it at least somewhat accessible. But why isn’t Obama’s team doing that?

A side note: Ohio’s own Senator Brown was the deciding vote. It’s safe to say he will NEVER AGAIN get my support (as he did in 2006), and I vow to financially support anyone that runs against him in the future. Mr. Brown, you’ve sold out the people of Ohio and the rest of this country, you should be ashamed. As should all the Senators and Representatives who supported it. You have failed us. Again.

Before I step away from this and start enjoying my weekend, I will leave you with a glimmer of hope. Somehow Congressman Ron Paul manages to fight on and speak the truth, and thank god for that. Ron Paul is my President. Buck Farack.

(Can’t see the video? Speech transcript here.)