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:

• Getting Off the Grid – Lila Rajiva
• Modern Survivalists are Ready for Layoffs, or War – Dallas Star Telegram
• Economic crisis spurs spike in ’suburban survivalists’ – Associated Press

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.

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.

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

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):

• Presidential fear-mongering for its passage
• passed by Congress without them even reading it
• late-night voting
• ignoring the people’s calls, emails, and faxes that are 100 to 1 against
  
• and ultimately the crushing of the shriveled remnants of our Constitution.

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.)

It’s official, President King Obama has taken his first steps towards ruining our country, seamlessly picking up where George W. Bush left off.

Last night his $825+ BILLION “Stimulus” bill was passed. NONE of the House Republicans voted for it (for once Ron Paul did not stand alone), and all but 11 Democrats voted for it (including Mary Jo Kilroy, new Representative for Ohio’s 15th District, who will NEVER AGAIN get my vote.)

Congressional Democrats had no problem rushing through a spending bill that they surely didn’t read (it’s 1,588 pages.) It seems all a President has to do now to get their agendas passed is claim that it’s an emergency (DO IT NOW, OR ELSE!!!) and threaten that “it’ll be worse if we do nothing.” Hmm, I think that’s the same line they used to justify rushing the TARP bailout plan through. And look how successful that’s been, aren’t we all much better off now?

So what’s in this bill that’s supposedly going to bring back jobs, fix our broken mortgages, and put more money in our wallets? Let’s examine some of the ridiculous things Mr. Obama has deemed urgently necessary:

Allow me to remind you: it’s NOT the federal government’s job to make sure you have digital TV service, museums, and trains. If you can find this clause in the Constitution, I’ll give you $100. It’s obvious that 98% of these items don’t have anything to do with emergencies or job-creation, they’re just going to expand an already overweight federal government and feed its bureaucracy.

What Obama hasn’t told you is that this bill has added an additional $6,700 of debt for every man, woman, and child in this country. Do you really want new sod that badly? What about your kids, how do you feel about enslaving them without their permission? It’s been said the tax cuts in this bill will put an extra $12 a week in the wallet of every American. Which number is bigger: 12 or 6,700? At $12/week it would take 10+ years to get that $6,700 back, and you can bet it will be worth WAY less than it is now thanks to inflation.

Needless to say, I’m beyond angry at this point, our political “representatives” (along with the American people) are RUINING this country with their apathy and lack of education on basic economics. Piece by piece we are building our own graves, and people are actually applauding it. The basics are simple to understand, and yet Americans still can’t grasp how it works. We are $10+ TRILLION in debt (counting unfunded obligations, that number is $50+ trillion), so Obama proposes tax cuts and spending INCREASES? He never once considered spending LESS on our military budget, pre-emptive wars, and empire-building, of course. I suppose once you get above $10+ trillion, the number is incomprehensible anyway, who cares how much higher it goes, right? (Unless you’re aware of what happens when you expand the money supply by trillions of dollars.) Americans see nothing wrong with this. We can spend, spend, spend, it’s all okay!

No, it’s NOT okay. Let me try making an analogy using these same principles, free from political terms that confuse and turn off most Americans:

Joe the Plumber is $500,000 in debt. He ran up his credit cards buying a bunch of things he didn’t need, lives in a house that he can’t afford, and financially supports a family in another neighborhood that constantly tries to attack the people next door to them. He’s lived this way for years and years but suddenly now he’s FREAKING OUT because he can’t make his monthly payments so the credit card companies are getting very angry, threatening to take away all of his assets, and the power company is threatening to turn off his electricity. He had to fire his pool boy, the dog’s private yoga instructor, and his private chef. Times are tough.

Joe comes up with a plan to fix this problem: he’s going to take a pay-cut at work and spend $100,000 using another credit card. He uses that $100,000 to buy a fancy new BBQ grill, some new trees for his yard, a new car, presents for the family in the other neighborhood, and other non-essential amenities. Joe the Plumber is now making less money each month, and is another $100,000 in debt. Do you think his plan will work? Will Joe wake up next week and suddenly be debt-free, with his pool boy and Spot’s yoga trainer back on the job?

If you support Obama’s plan, I have 3 assignments for you:

1. Find where in the Constitution it says the federal government is allowed to use tax-payer money for these things.
2. Read the Stimulus Bill for yourself. All 1,588 pages.
3. Report back to me in a few months and tell me how many jobs have been created and how much better off we are thanks to this emergency pillaging.
4. EXTRA CREDIT #1: Research how FDR’s New Deal programs actually prolonged the Great Depression.
5. EXTRA CREDIT #2: Research the Weimar Republic and how hyperinflation affected them.

The kicker of this whole thing is that Obama has said over and over again that it’s time for an Era of Personal Responsibility. This means NOT RELYING ON THE GOVERNMENT TO DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU.

If you really want to follow the King’s advice, quit begging for help from the government and then crying even louder when they make it worse. Quit asking for more debt. Quit asking for less control over your life. Try some COMMON SENSE, America.

All Americans who are concerned over the fiscal irresponsibility of Congress and the inflationary effects of its trillion dollar deficits, trillion dollar bailouts, and trillion dollar stimulus package, MUST contact their representative immediately in opposition to H.R. 1, the economic stimulus package.

“There is a lot of stimulus and growth in this bill – that is, of government.  Nothing in this bill stimulates the freedom and prosperity of the American people.  Politician-directed spending is never as successful as market-driven investment.  Instead of passing this bill, Congress should get out of the way by cutting taxes, cutting spending, and reining in the reckless monetary policy of the Federal Reserve.”

- Congressman Ron Paul

Rep. Ron Paul issued a statement yesterday regarding this bill which makes it clear what type of bill it is and some of the reasons why we must oppose it. Here are some highlights:

• “In reality, this bill is just an escalation of a government-created economic mess. As before, a sense of urgency and impending doom is being used to extract mountains of money from Congress with minimal debate….. We are again being promised that its passage will help employment, help homeowners, help the environment, etc.  These promises are worthless.  This time around especially, Congress should know better than to pass anything of this magnitude without first reading the fine print.”
• “At least $4 billion is allocated to expanding the police state and the war on drugs … and the COPS program, both of which are corrupt and largely ineffective programs.”
• “To help Big Brother keep a better eye on us and our children, $20 billion would go towards health information technology, which would create a national system of electronic medical records without adequate privacy protection.”
• “$79 billion bails out states that haphazardly expanded their budgets during the bubble years, but refuse to retrench and cut back, as their taxpayers have had to, during recession years.”
• “Of course the bill is rife with central planning projects.”
• “This bill delivers an additional debt burden of $6,700 to every American man, woman and child.”
• “There is a lot of stimulus and growth in this bill – that is, of government.  Nothing in this bill stimulates the freedom and prosperity of the American people.  Politician-directed spending is never as successful as market-driven investment.  Instead of passing this bill, Congress should get out of the way by cutting taxes, cutting spending, and reining in the reckless monetary policy of the Federal Reserve.”

The bottom line is that Americans need to help preserve their freedom and prosperity by opposing this nearly trillion dollar economic stimulus package.

Speak out against this, contact your Representative immediately!

As the clock runs down on Bush’s time in office, I should be rejoicing, but my muscles can’t help but tense up. Such is the life of one who lives outside the left/right paradigm, a.k.a. The Matrix.

There are many possible explanations for this — the on-set of Obama’s socialist regime being a MAJOR concern — but the most immediate worry is if Bush and Co. are going to do anything to avoid handing over power (perhaps their favorite: some sort of false-flag event like 9/11) it’ll obviously happen before January 20th, which is only 8 days away.

Eight days to go then we can breathe easy and go back to our TVs, right? Unfortunately, the time to worry doesn’t end on the 20th. For months now there have been mentions of Obama being “tested” as soon as the 21st or 22nd of this month (so say Kissinger, Gates, Powell, Biden, etc.) Like it or not, the stage is set for something big to happen — Bush and his globalist buddies have been very busy the past 8 years. The most immediate threat is the engineered dollar collapse, but war on Iran, war on Pakistan, total economic depression, and domestic rioting are also very real possibilities. Whatever it is, I want to be ready.

A search for emergency preparation / survival lists will yield many results.

Some people’s suggested inventories are rather extensive and daunting (not to mention expensive) and would be hard to fulfill if you’re of average income like myself. I’m trying to find a middle ground — keeping it simple and sticking to the basics, less than 15 items:

1. lots of water (1 gallon per person per day, I prefer distilled or spring)
2. lots of food (legumes, nuts, rice, canned fruits & vegetables, nutritional yeast, protein powder, TVP, tofu, energy bars, emergency food kits)
3. batteries (maybe not needed if you have #4)
4. hand-crank radio / flashlight / cellphone charger
5. toilet paper
6. bleach or calcium hypochlorite (pool shock) to disinfect your water
7. castile soap (can be used for shampoo, dish soap, laundry, etc.)
8. first-aid supplies
9. candles & matches (a Firesteel is good to have too)
10. vitamins and essential oils
11. seeds (get non-Monsanto, non-GMO!)
12. gun(s) and ammo
13. full gas tank
14. cash / gold / silver
    (When IndyMac failed last July, customers were locked out of their accounts online, at the ATMs, and at the actual branches. They couldn’t even check their balances. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my money being locked away from me, esp. in an emergency, so I’m withdrawing as much as I can.)

* For people with pets: don’t forget about them! Here’s a good list of items to have ready for cats and dogs.

Everybody has their own needs and preferred amenities, so obviously my list is not going to work for everyone, but hopefully it’s a good starting point. I recommend reading the list of 100 Things to Disappear First to determine what you may want to stock up on while you can. I also recommend listening to the Survival Podcast as often as possible!

Worst that can happen:

Too many things to list here, but they would all end with “I told you so” and I really hope I never have to say that.

Best that can happen:

I’m wrong and am left with a bunch of emergency supplies I should have anyway.

Hope this helps get you thinking about whether you’re prepared to survive on your own for at least a few days. Trust me, you don’t want to rely on FEMA to save you, just ask New Orleans.

Godspeed!

What do these four companies have in common?

• Citigroup
• JPMorgan Chase
• Goldman Sachs
• Morgan Stanley

Give up? They were all top donors to Barack Obama and John McCain.

This is classic banker strategy, prop up BOTH candidates, so either way— they win.

How, exactly, do they win? Well, for starters, take a look at potential candidates for Obama’s Treasury Secretary:

• Lawrence Summers, Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton and World Bank economist
• Timothy Geithner, President of New York Federal Reserve and Treasury Undersecretary under Bill Clinton
• Paul Volcker, former Federal Reserve Chairman
• Jon Corzine, former Chairman of Goldman Sachs
• Jamie Dimon, head of JPMorgan Chase and Company

So, CHANGE is going to come in the form of putting either a former Clinton official and/or a former Wall St. big wig in charge of the Treasury Department.

That CHANGE is about as refreshing as room temperature coffee that’s been sitting in my car for a week.

Think about it. Really think about. Is it in the best interest of this country to put someone even remotely tied to the Federal Reserve Banking system — comprised of private bankers who profit IMMENSELY from federal gov’t. spending — in CHARGE of federal gov’t. spending?!

For now though, while people are still in their Barack the Vote dream land, he’s pretending like he gives a damn about what YOU THE PEOPLE think, and is asking for ideas to “help us solve the biggest challenges facing our country.”

If this post pisses you off (it should!), I strongly urge you to head over to the website and tell him what you think.

What did I suggest to him?

I told the President-Elect that if he really wants to fix this jacked up economy, instead of incessantly TREATING THE SYMPTOMS with complicated tax breaks and stimulus packages, he needs to CURE THE DISEASE by using the bully pulpit of the office of the President to urge Congress to abolish the Federal Reserve System.

Congressman Ron Paul has already introduced the legislation necessary to do so, the paperwork is already done. Ending the Fed and returning to a Constitutional sound monetary system where our currency isn’t printed and regulated by a private bank would do WONDERS for our economy, and it’s what the founding fathers had always intended.

I have many friends who voted for this guy. I hope anyone who truly adores and trusts Mr. Obama to bring forth this utopian Yes We Can! world will give him a real loyalty test and demand real changes, not recycled chunks of status quo.

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies… The issuing power (of money) should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs.”

- Thomas Jefferson

Despite what your TV may say, there is no choice to make tomorrow.

It’s been systematically engineered so you will choose between two nearly identical candidates, and either way— Americans lose. Don’t believe me? See where they fall on the Nolan Chart political compass.

Would you like Big Government a la Socialism? Or Big Government a la Fascism?

McCain = Fascism:

A philosophy or system of government that is marked by stringent social and economic control, a strong, centralized government usually headed by a dictator, and often a policy of belligerent nationalism.

Obama = Socialism:

An economic, social and political doctrine which expresses the struggle for the equal distribution of wealth by eliminating private property and the exploitative ruling class.

I am not voting for Obama, nor am I voting for McCain.

They’re both part of the corporate-owned, two-party monopoly and both have globalist agendas that include less U.S. sovereignty (look up the NAU and CFR), they both want MORE war (McCain wants Iran, Obama and McCain want more Afghanistan), both have been silent on the imminent economic collapse headed our way, both are drooling for MORE spending and bigger government (we’re already $10 trillion in debt), and neither knows what the U.S. Constitution is about. McCain has voted in line with the U.S. Constitution only 36% of the time during this past Congressional session, Obama has upheld the Constitution a mere 11% of the time [see the JBS Freedom Index, Oct. 2008.]

It’s not a donkey vs. an elephant, blue states vs. red states, liberal vs. conservative, or rich vs. poor. It’s SOCIALISM vs. FASCISM.

Personally, I like living in a Constitutional Republic and I don’t want my nephews to be burdened with trillions of dollars of debt or drafted into an endless war.

As if my family wasn’t reason enough, tomorrow a friend of mine heads back to Iraq for the third time and I know neither McCain or Obama will bring her back home any time soon.

I will end with some good news — there are FOUR other candidates on the ballot in Ohio:

• Chuck Baldwin, Constitution Party
• Bob Barr, Libertarian Party
• Cynthia McKinney, Green Party
• Ralph Nader, independent

For those who would argue that any of these four would be a wasted vote, I invite you to read this article. Indeed, those that vote for more of the two-party status quo are the ones wasting their vote. Those that refuse to settle are the TRUE patriots.

Please think before you make your decision tomorrow. Walk outside the confines of the D vs. R walls, turn off your TVs, and ask yourself who will really uphold our country’s values of freedom and liberty?

Our founding fathers and mothers didn’t fight the American Revolution in order that we may vote for a lesser of two evils. It’s time to take a stand and restore our republic so our children may have a better future ahead of them.