Perfectly Unbalanced

I've come across some odd information that seems like some sort of bizarre math problem.  I was gifted in school to be able to just look at a story problem and see the answer, the problem was in showing my work.  I now see, we have one heck of a story problem, and even if we can show the work, I think it the answer contains an unknown variable . . .

Organic homesteads are being busted, cities have ordinances against gardens, food stamp dependency has increased by about 500%, yet in the last 5 years Cabela's stock has increased approximately by that same percentage.  Back in 2009 Cabela's stock was around $10.00, last I checked it was over $60.   Meanwhile, Big Ag is running mostly on insurance due to weather issues.

The missing variable here, is what concerns me.  Why has a company that sells equipment for living off the land had such huge stock increase at the same time and rate as dependency on the government has increased?  Is off the grid existence going to still be based upon government provision or are there really militias forming?  I don't know which one it is, but there is a definite breakdown between sufficiency and dependence and it still points to the food supply.

I've seen reports of gardens demolished over ordinances and I've seen reports of thousands of pounds of meat destroyed, and this is all by an indebted government with authority over dependent hungry people.  There is clearly something wrong with this equation.  I've already read that many hunters will not be donating their kill after reading of the destruction.

The true Jeremiah Johnson's, live off  the land types, aren't the ones running the stock up on high end "simplicity" as it's packaged at Cabela's.  Cabela's has some great products, but that sort of inventory caters to hobbyists enjoying yet another new toy.  Besides with all the hunting and fishing regulations, not to mention the skill all but lost, hunting is not going to keep very many people from starving.

It's time to get practical about our circumstances.  Hunting is wonderful and wild game is a great feast, but it's not a sustainable food supply like gardening, and hunting is very regulated.  The Department of Conservation was the first government agency with the authority to come in your house without warning . . . and take the meat out of your freezer.  As the food supply becomes an issue, by cost and availability, we need to keep in mind, there's been a disconnect between provision and true sustainability.

And YHWH G-d took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.  Torah of Holy Scripture

No Laughing Matter

Not that I think TSA is any laughing matter, but I guess it was my coping mechanism.  I've cracked wise right here at this site, through the years.  I've even sarcastically mentioned that our government could save some serious dollars in the combination of TSA and Obamacare.  I mean just a little training and those patdowns could serve as exams.  Crank up that Xray machine to see through skin and not just clothes and everyone could at least have a chest Xray or bone density study.  The TSA was one of the first subjects I addressed when I began blogging.

Below is the link to the second blog I ever posted, right here at this site!
http://write-wing.blogspot.com/2005/01/feeling-free.html

http://www.westernjournalism.com/tsa-loudspeakers-threaten-travelers-arrest-joking-security/#cAUo4mFxu8xxYr0O.01

Nothing new at all.  While we the people get ourselves in a dither, these things have been going into place for years!

I am also including a video by Ray Stephens.   I will qualify this with one point of disagreement with his melodious observation.  He only included very recent powerful names in the news, but my Passport was retired after my trip to Philadelphia in 2004, which was following world travel prior to that.  The experience in the US airports after the USA Patriot Act is what introduced me to the "unfriendly skies" and in mentioning the private jets of politicians, he failed to include the mega-church pastors with their own private jets.  With this qualifying remark, I share, Ray Stephens, who creatively conveys in song, the disdain I feel.

The following Scripture was posted and repeated several times following 9/11, now it's been "gutted" and once again placed on billboards in it's "new condensed version."
If my people will humble themselves and pray, then I will heal their land.- 2 Chronicles 7:14"  

Here's the way it reads in Scripture, and I sure wish we'd have done it!
If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.   II Chronicles 7:14

Proud?

I remember when Michelle Obama made the following statement.  It is linked to the article.

Michelle Obama: “For the First Time in My Adult Lifetime, I’m Really Proud of My Country”

 To be honest, there have been a number of times in my adult life that I wasn't so proud of our country, but there have also been stellar moments in which our country used to do the right thing.  To be honest, those times have seemed fewer and farther between for some time now.  I realize some of this lack of pride has been the result of my own research, rather than just accepting what is presented.  A great deal of the change in my perspective, though, is spiritual.

I do not blame Mr. Obama, entirely, for the condition of this country, nor do I credit him.  As a matter of fact, other than force something on me that I don't believe in, he's pretty much not kept his campaign promises, but then he's had exemplary excuses.  The truth of the matter, is, Michelle, and the rest of us, America has been going downhill for years and years.  We sold out to materialism after WWII, and military might has been our claim to fame since the atomic bomb, then a 5 Star General President.  It seems the war-mongering has been a requirement to continue the presence of Super Power.  The materialism has turned into insurmountable debt, though, and having a president that has enjoyed guest status as a child and never had to actually worry about an income isn't helping resolve this problem.

If not being concerned with how things will be paid for is reason to be proud, then I guess Michelle can enjoy her grandstanding . . . and countless vacations, but as someone who is well aware that the fiddler will insist upon being paid, I'd rather not saddle my grandchildren with the debt.

The politicians are the aristocracy of this nation and it seems they've "struck a power deal" to be exempt from what the rest of us deal with because of their decisions.  In the old days, pride was seen as evil and fame and fortune were often equated to having "made a deal with the devil."

Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.  a Proverb of Holy Scripture

Politicians are Displaying Political Extremism

The full letter of the state representative is included in this edition of the Goshen Gazette, under the headline "A Political Letter."  Here, I've included the first paragraph and the last, because the aim for political extremism is so blatant.

September 24, 2013
We began the week with some real fun at Seneca High School. FFA teacher, Angel Roller, invited Representative Reiboldt and myself in to speak to a group of local citizens about the farm legislation we passed last session. The "Right to Farm" bill was the primary focus of the presentation. There are many who don't see a reason for us to have laws that guarantee the right to raise crops or livestock the same way that we have for generations. Why would we need such a law? There are special interest groups that are pushing for laws to drastically change the way we produce our food. I am NOT proposing that we are cruel to animals, but anyone who thinks that we can "free range" poultry in Southwest Missouri doesn't realize how many hungry coyotes, hawks, foxes, raccoons, eagles, etc. there are that would gladly support that idea. Some states have already enacted laws that prevent egg laying operations from being contained in cages. Imagine 20,000 chickens laying eggs all over a 40 acre field. Talk about job creation! I know how ridiculous this sounds, but California has already enacted just such laws. Another favorite target is raising hogs without "gestation crates". A gestation crate, or farrowing crate as I knew them growing up, is nothing more than a containment to keep a 350 pound sow from rolling over and crushing her babies. The hogs grow quite fond of them in fact, they don't have to do anything but eat and sleep for a while when they deliver their litters. The fact is, if farmers mistreated their animals, they could not have good production and that means they would go broke. Representative Reiboldt made the point that he took better care of his dairy cattle than he did himself. Most farmers feel exactly the same.
 . . . . . . . body of letter
  I live in the same part of the country to which Mr. Lant refers.  I will admit I've lost a few chickens over the years to hawks, but hawks are federally protected.  Even though my chickens are free range, I have a chicken house with nest boxes in which they lay their eggs and roosts where they roost every night.  I don't have to search the acreage for eggs.  I'm not sure how in touch Mr. Lant is with his rural constituency, as my chicken house has a door on it, so foxes, coyotes, etc. aren't an issue.  I've also learned when the protected predator is hovering, my chickens sound their warning and take cover . . .  These representatives should be aware that many of us want what's best for our animals, and protected predators and a 1 cube foot cage is not necessarily what's best for a chicken, but poultry farms are big business in this area with a well funded lobby.  I don't raise hogs, so I can't comment.
 Interesting article with video for those opposed to free range chickens.


the closing of Mr. Lant's letter

I just heard that a State Patrolman in St. Louis was shot but because he was wearing a protective vest, he is O.K. Those guys as well as our local law enforcement sure deserve our thanks for the job they do! I also just heard that Governor Nixon is shooting for Vice President. Do you suppose that's why he traveled all over the state in his new airplane at a cost of 780.00 per hour supposedly campaigning against a tax break? Nah, surely not!  Who knows what next week will bring, until then I am and remain in your service.

Bill Lant

I found the closing paragraph combining the shooting of a law enforcement officer who is fine, and a political barb to be contextually poor, but also divisive issues.  Even his presumed constituency has some misgivings about the authority being exercised by big city law enforcement these days, and it's a bit early to get the 2016 campaign conjecture started.

I realize all these little comments don't amount to much on a national scale, because after all, this guy is just a state representative, but the ideology is obvious throughout his letter.  The ideology of American politics seems to be the same on every level.  Control the people and blame the other party, and seemingly nothing more.  It's done by both parties, consistently and continuously and that is extremism!

 There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health. a Proverb of Holy Scripture