From Panama with Love

Here is a succinct account of our recent past...

As the days passed in our trailer in southern Oregon watching the summer turn to fall we knew we didn't want to brave another Oregon winter without substantial shelter over our heads. So just before the end of September we drove down through California on I-5 and then through

Arizona and New Mexico on I-10, and back into Texas. I feared a breakdown the whole way because my Jeep's bearings had been whining even before the trip. Though it was an eventful journey I'm happy to say we made it to Texas healthy and whole.

Once in Texas we proceeded to go through the “stuff” in our storage sheds and sell or give away items we no longer wanted. (Unfortunately Texas received a record amount of rain during
October so we had to sit on our hands a lot of the time.) We sold our van, then our travel trailer, and lastly the Jeep. It felt strange and even sad to wave goodbye to all these vehicles that had supported us for so long, but we didn't want to pay storage while we went south for the winter and each vehicle had its own set of problems that would have taken more money and time than we wanted to spend. Once the Jeep sold we stayed with our very patient and loving relatives until we caught a bus to Fort Lauderdale.

I don't know how many of you have ridden long distance on Greyhound Bus Lines, but you should do it at least once. And you will only want to do it once, I'll bet. Anyway, from Fort Lauderdale we flew on Spirit Air to Panama City, Panama. (Spirit Air is so much cheaper than the majors that it cost less to take a bus to their Fort Lauderdale hub than to fly to Panama from Dallas.) Once in Panama City we stayed in our first hostel for two days, and then took a bus to David City, where we stayed at another hostel for a couple of days and then we took another bus up the mountain to Boquete, Panama, and it is from here that I write.

In Boquete we stayed at local hostels and tried to figure out how we could avoid staying at them any more. These places are fine, but not the best for a family and certainly not a value for staying in an area long term. We began asking around and checking bulletin boards outside local markets, made a few calls on our new skype account (oicu812ic) and voila! We are now staying for two months in a beautiful local apartment for much less than the hostels would cost us. Not only that, but we are a short walk from Boquete town center and across the road from us is Paradise Gardens, a garden and animal rescue facility. The children have already made friends with the capuchin monkeys there.

So, we will update you frequently and please stay in touch.

Withdraw from the System

If you reflect on national politics something becomes obvious: YOU can not control ANYTHING. You are locked OUT of the political process. National policies are decided for the benefit of somebody, but not YOU.

Need examples?

You don't want the U.S. army in Iraq or Afghanistan, but the imperial stormtroopers are there and there's nothing you can do about it. We have even learned that the Iraq invasion was made on the basis of lies, but your current "representatives" didn't reverse policy, did they?

In 2008 Democrats gained control of the House of Representatives but their leader, Nancy Pelosi, slapped the new "representatives" in line when they wanted to prosecute George Bush. These periodic purges of "voting out the bums" has no practical effect. Again, they all represent Big Business and NOT you and me.

No one wants illegal aliens crossing our borders but there are many millions of them in this country now and over the decades amnesties have been granted to many millions more. The decision has obviously been made at the highest levels to flood the lowest stratum of the System with poor people to exploit for cheap labor. (This also undercuts the middle class, which is an apparent goal, but that's a big discussion for another time.)

Nobody wants taxpayer money to be paid to bankers and record numbers of people told their "representatives" not to do this, but TRILLIONS have been handed over to them anyway. We are told "they are too big to fail" which is a feeble rationale for crime.

The vast majority of Americans oppose gun control legislation, but our "representatives" vote it up anyway.

Who would possibly want to eat genetically modified foods? But the big corporations will not have informative labeling and they make sure their servants, our "elected representatives", will never approve such a thing.

You are disgusted by the atrocities committed against the Palestinians by Israel, but your "representatives" continue to send that vile country billions, even as you become poorer.

I could go on and on with this, but I think you get the idea. It doesn't take much pondering to realize that if the System is completely unresponsive to your demands, but you still are expected to support it with your taxes, then you exist merely to provide sustenance to it. Let me spell it out: you were born into a System that keeps you in place and extracts money and life energy from you. YOU ARE FARMED. YOU ARE A CROP!

I know that's depressing, so go ahead and be depressed. Depression is what you feel when you've lost something, and if this idea is new to you then you HAVE lost something. But what? How about the illusion of the American dream?

The question you should be asking is what do I do about this, and there are many, many things you can do. I'll present a list soon, but I would like you to do what I did: WITHDRAW from the System. Take yourself and your family outside of it and refuse to give it sustenance. If enough people fought back against the System by withdrawing their support from it, the System would have to surrender to the awesome power of the people. Massive, non-violent civil disobedience is the one thing to which the System can not respond.

Helping this to happen is the reason I do this blog.

Obama: Meet the New Boss

“I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views. As such, I am bound to disappoint some, if not all, of them.” --Barack Obama

Barack Obama first came to my attention when he spoke at the 2004 Democratic Convention. My SUPERVISOR--back when I was a HUMAN RESOURCE--mentioned how impressed she was with this guy. Back then I feigned interest in such mainstream topics, but in truth I never watched TV and regarded presidential politics as theater and orchestration.

The best thing about Barack Obama being elected is that it proves Americans can elect a dark-skinned man to be president. But is there more to be happy about? What justifies the misty-eyed giddiness I am witnessing about this guy? I had the misfortune of being in Ashland, Oregon on Obama's inauguration day. Everywhere I turned it seemed someone was waxing out loud about how great it was that Obama is the new president, but what is it about this guy that has everyone so impressed?

First off, can any serious person think it possible that a senator from the political cesspool of Chicago would be squeaky clean? Seriously! A quick look at Obama's voting record as a senator shows fairly consistent support for the war machine, and a spotty record on individual liberties. I see nothing there to justify the claims that this man is going to be a source of HOPE AND CHANGE, though.

And how could anyone listen to the presidential debates and take either candidate seriously? The one time I overheard the Obama/McCain debate it was "Al Qaeda this", and "Al Qaeda that" but give me a break! These men were parroting the official fairy tales. AL QAEDA DOES NOT EXIST, people. This "organization" is a concoction of the CIA to keep us all afraid and more easily controlled. (I realize that for some of you that statement will sound unbelievable, but it's time to wake from your slumber!)

I did not hear Obama bravely challenge the official account of 9-11 or the bogus reasons to wage war on Afghanistan and Iraq. Now THAT would be real change!

Obama lied
I paid close attention to the conflict between the countries of Georgia and South Ossetia when Georgia surprise attacked the other country (at the urging of the U.S.) and Russia responded by immediately halting the attack and kicking Georgia out. The U.S. claimed that Russia attacked first, a claim that was proven false by an international inquiry. When Obama was asked about this, he simply lied when he accused Russia of starting the conflict with Georgia. (Sarah Palin did the same thing, which bolsters a claim I will make that there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats.) This was a big moment for me in assessing Barack Obama's character.

Obama's appointments don't lie
His cabinet picks are where Obama's presidency moves from lofty rhetoric and starts taking shape, and what an ugly shape it is! He has chosen entrenched insiders who each have a history of suppressing the people and the truth. Where's the change?

Without going through each candidate, certain strong themes stand out from Obama's appointments.

• He leaves in place Bush's secretary of defense (!!) which tells us the war machine will go on as before. The imperial slaughter of dark-skinned peoples, including the Palestinians, will continue unabated.
• His economic team is much the same set of scoundrels that are systematically looting the country as we speak. The looting will continue.
• Obama's environmental picks signal a separation from policies that benefit Big Oil, and this actually gives me hope! Unfortunately, the premise behind this will be "The Climate Crisis" which is a huge fraud (and one that is steadily unraveling.) But watch for the carbon tax!
• Obama will promote global government. Most of Obama's picks are members of the Council on Foreign Relations, including Zbigniew Brzezinski, Obama's foreign policy advisor. The Council on Foreign Relations exists for only one purpose, to end national sovereignty and deliver us into a system of global governance.

Politics as dialectic
Here's what's really going on. From brainsturbator.com:

We find ourselves up against an entrenched power structure composed of a relatively very small group of wealthy elites. They seldom rule directly or even visibly, and maintain their power through building huge armed bureaucracies who enforce power for them.

In America, the two-party system is a fraud, which controls the people and forces them to choose among candidates that do NOT represent their interests. The people are bounced back and forth like a pinball between the hard-right and the soft right, but the underlying agenda keeps moving along. Each election cycle we are given--not the right to choose who our candidates will be--but to select from the men we are given, and if you pay attention you'll notice that the candidates from either party are basically saying the same things. From the Clinton velvet-glove we are swatted over to George W's iron fist and now we are given "hope and change" in the form of the friendly-looking, dark-skinned candidate Obama.

Here's what Carroll Quigley said about our system in his very important book, "Tragedy and Hope":

The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to the doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can "throw the rascals out" at any election without leading to any profound or extreme shifts in policy.

When Barack Obama repeals the Patriot Act, and the Military Commissions Act, and other heinous legislation from the Bush era, that's when you'll know he's worthy of your trust.

Gifts for the chillens

Relatives have been asking what our children need for Christmas, so this post is for them. But nobody get trampled, now!

Alexis
Guitar case, Alexis is playing a lot lately and needs a better case for her guitar.

Guitar capo, Another item for Alexis' guitar playing.

Strings, players always wear them out.

Diabolo, since Connor got his diabolo (and is getting rather good), Alexis decided she really wanted one too.

Feltmaking kit, Alexis loves crafts and discovered this recently. She's been asking for a kit like the one called FELTMAKING KIT: INTRODUCTION a little down the page.

Tumbling mat, Alexis has been doing circus classes and could use a mat to practice her moves!

Gypsy skirt, and another, Lexie is becoming interested in looking pretty and likes earthy styles.


Connor

Connor has picked up mandolin playing, and so needs accessories like strings, instruction books, DVDs, and a music stand.

He loves camping gear, such as a mess kit, a quality sleeping pad, a pro backpack, a tiny stove.

He built a bow and arrow and has become interested in hunting. A youth bow would be an ecstatically welcomed gift.

He rides his bike everywhere and has asked for one of those bike computers (also called 'cyclocomputers').

He likes juggling and eye-hand tricks: Juggling balls

Many thanks to you all for your kindness and generosity. Merry Christmas, wish you were here.

Your IRA belongs to Uncle Sam

I once read an article by Gary North on tax-deferred retirement plans like IRAs or 401Ks. He said:

Want to know what I really think will happen? The worst-case scenario? A demagogue gets into office and pushes an emergency order (which Congress will not override) which deposits all these funds into the Social Security system, for everyone who has a net worth (not counting home ownership) of [$__________]. Fill in the blank with whatever the tyrant thinks he can get away with. We could see an envy-grab of the retirement programs of the upper middle class.
...
The time to start thinking about a premature liquidation is when a new President is elected on a radical platform, probably with a shift in Presidential political parties, and with both houses of the new Congress belonging to his party.

Wow, pretty good call Gary!

The demagoguery of IRAs has begun in the person of Teresa Ghilarducci, a wacked out professor who recommended to Congress that retirement accounts should be confiscated and replaced with Treasury bonds, "to spread the wealth" (she actually said that). This kind of behavior is not at all uncommon among governments. The government of Argentina has stolen its people's money at least twice, most recently when it confiscated all pension funds, to protect their value of course.

Any president coming into office in the midst of this economic chaos is certain to look at all possible ways to raise money, and higher taxes are a certainty. But the Obama administration has foreshadowed a particular willingness to squeeze the cash out of the people. For instance, they will probably attempt to pass a global warming tax, a debate I'll particularly enjoy since global warming is such a grand hoax. I think confiscating retirement accounts and freezing bank accounts are very likely too, so be prepared. It's going to get even weirder.

I feel sorry for my friends at Intuit who will probably have little choice but to watch the government take their 401K money. To get their money out of harm's way they would have to quit their job, rollover the plan into an IRA, and then liquidate. At this point, there's probably no time left for all that, even if they wanted to do it. The government may also attempt to make a confiscation law retroactive to the first of the year, a trick Bill Clinton successfully used when he raised taxes in 1993.

These are times to be very wary of one's money, people. Don't be afraid to make bold moves. The politicians certainly aren't.

What was Biden talking about?

On October 19th at a fundraiser in Seattle, Joe Biden had some very interesting things to say. Go to the source article and see for yourself:

• In the first six months after Obama's victory there will be an international crisis.
  
• It will be a "generated" crisis.
  
• Obama's response will be very unpopular with the American public and his approval ratings will plummet.
  
• His response will be different than what Americans want, because they are too stupid to know the right thing to do anyway.
  
• He ended his comments by saying he had said too much.
  

One might interpret these statements as the musings of an experienced politician, except for a few things: Why would Biden say the crisis will be "generated". That's certainly a weird thing to say, don't you think? Second, how does he know that Obama's ratings are going to plummet?

Knowing this crowd, I would advise you to prepare for the worst.

The story of selling our house

We saw the financial chaos coming when we were living in Dallas, Texas. The housing bubble had already started to pop a year before, though gently at first and only for areas that had the most dramatic rises, but we knew it would make its way to Dallas (and everywhere) soon. One reason for our certainty came from the frequent walks I took around our neighborhood. I liked to walk to work off the frustrations from my wage slave job, and after walking down one block after another, seeing house after identical house helped convince me that the suburbs are doomed. What an unnatural way to live! We knew that these endless tracts of suburban houses would drop substantially in value, but we also anticipated other problems like wide-spread layoffs and even interruptions in the supply of food, and we began to feel like remaining in our suburban house was a trap of sorts. So, we decided to sell it.

We put our house on the market in early 2007, and--because we were in a race with time--each month that went by we lowered our price by $10,000! (This caused some big arguments in our household, I should add.) We didn't have many showings, but after two months we received an offer, although it was so low-ball we refused it. Apparently, these buyers thought we were desperate, but we weren't desperate--just determined. Eventually, this person came up to our (low) price and so bought our house.

We sold at the last possible moment because immediately afterwards the housing market began to fall in earnest. When the press gave the phenomenon a lot of attention house sales plummeted. At the time of our closing we felt we were cheating ourselves of profits, but when we walked away from it and we were completely out of debt for the first time in many years, it felt good. And it still feels good!

Debt-free is the correct posture to be in for the period of economic chaos we are entering. If you do have money it is a good idea to put it into REAL things like land that can support a big garden and skills and tools that will help you make a living during hard times. We are entering a period of chaos that will be unlike anything any of us has ever experienced. You should try to join or build a local community of friends and family who will hang together. That's certainly what we are doing.