Jack Burns Lives!

Terrorism: deadly violence against humans and other living things, usually conducted by government against its own people.-Edward Abbey

Reading about the tragic events in India leads me to several conclusions. One, terrorists are cowards. Despicable filth, if you ask me. It makes me wonder if I shouldn’t have a Glock strapped to my hip every time I visit a major city. Better yet, avoid major cities. 

What sort of human kills innocent women and children and unarmed men?

And finally, I see two common institutions behind all of this violence, government and religion. Which makes me therefore feel comfortable in my anarchistic agnosticism. 

I think Marathon, Texas is a nice place. I should move there. Fewer than 500 folks, it’s unincorporated, has organic and sustainable food production, a healthy mix of cowboys and hippy types and a strong, local economy. Everyone knows everyone and folks take care of one another.  Close proximity to a national park and thousands of acres of nothing but high desert. 

Doubtful any Muslim extremists will be targeting Marathon. Can’t be so sure about those Christians, though. They may try to terrorize the citizenry with stories of hell, a place easily avoided with a church membership and regular contributions.

I’m getting to the point to where I don’t even want to read the newspaper. I’ve turned CNN off. Can’t even stomach MSNBC now that they’ve stopped reporting news and turned themselves into a leftist version of FAUX News. 

What ever happened to just reporting the news? Just tell me what happened without all your cutesy little remarks and insults. 

I frankly can’t take another day of hearing about all this financial insanity. Of hearing how the Change President is appointing hoards of Clinton hawks (let’s not forget his actions Yugoslavia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Haiti and NAFTA) and apparently moving straight toward the maintenance of the malignant status quo.

I think we should have some frank, straight forward talk about all this bailout crap. No more Paulson pontifications and obfuscations.

We have largely non-regulated financial services firms with thousands of executives that lived pretty high on the hog for years while also apparently mismanaging funds and making poorly informed decisions. Quite a few made in excess of $100 million per year. Many live in 8,000 square foot homes and send their kids to private high schools that often in excess of $20,000 per year. Lavish vacations, second and third homes, yachts, planes…you get the picture. 

Then we have all these flighty mortgage companies, that seemingly popped up overnight, offering all sorts of loans to people that either had no business buying a house or that were buying one way beyond their means.  In other words, the system extended too much credit to too many people. 

And all to prop up the housing and construction industry, which also basically went nuts, overbuilding spec houses and McMansions all across the country. 

Why? 

For growth, that’s why. That one little word that has made us go completely fucking insane. It makes me think once again of Black Elk when he spoke of the Wasichu (white folks) taking his land.  Once whites found gold on the Madison Fork, it was pretty much over for the Latoka. Black Elk stated “Wasichu found much of the yellow metal that they worship and that makes them crazy.”

Truer words were never spoken. The simple, plain truth. The problem is we’re apparently now even crazier.

Why is it that so few people can see what’s really going on here? That this is not sustainable and that any talk (Obama, you listening?) about sustaining this type of growth, or god forbid, extending more credit is INSANE.

The current act in this tragic drama has us bailing out banks. Hundreds of them, many of which have Texas ratios over 100%.  Two, perhaps more, are in my community.  

But get this…we’re extending bailout money so they can survive and….extend more credit so we get the growth going again!! 

And yes, you former home owners that were foreclosed on are going to pay to help bail out the very bank that’s preparing to auction your house on the courthouse steps. Refuse to pay? Well, you’ll go to jail and face almost certain complete and total financial ruin. 

Kill yourself? Success means you’re dead, which isn’t good, and failed attempts are risky, because if you get caught trying and don’t succeed, the state will put you in an institution that will cost you and your family a bundle. Assuming the wife hasn’t already left you and sued for any remaining assets in divorce court.

There’s no escape. 

Okay, for the last time. Here’s the unavoidable truth:

1. You can’t grow infinitely in a world of finite resources. Our little planet is giving us all sorts of warning signals (and so is the economy), but we’re apparently deaf, dumb and blind.

2. The only type of capitalist economy that is sustainable is a steady state economy bound by geophysical and biological limits. 

The third unavoidable truth is Obama can’t fix this. It’s too ingrained in our national psyche. We’re going to stay on this path until we assure our own destruction. After that, two options are plausible. One, that we relearn how to live in harmony with the planet, in smaller, sustainable subsistence communities, or we create a mega-Orwellian police state, sort of like what Abbey predicted in Good News. 

Which one is emerges is up to us.

Woodrow F. Call, Lovehound
http://youtube.com/v/DN45QXRbi5g
Here’s my new bloodhound puppy, Woodrow. He’s a handful!

Big Bad Brave Bear Hunters
http://youtube.com/v/LZnsL7-UdGc
Here’s a couple of real louts. Why kill a bear, especially one with a cub? They’re not hunting for food. They’re just killing a magnificent animal for sport, so they can grunt a few times, slap some high fives and feel all manly. It’s disgusting.
I hope both of these guys meet another mother grizz and have opportunity to show how tough they are without all the high powered weaponry. Welcome to the food chain!

They’re disgusting human beings. Simply disgusting.

Hayduke posted a call for public works in the green sector. I don’t know who Van Jones is, but I posted several weeks back on the Abbeyweb about the need for a CCC type program in green energy and economics.

A lot of people seem terrified about the auto industry and are calling for a bailout. They argue it’s necessary for us to save jobs and remain an industrial power. I say “bullshit.”

GM is in this position because they make a poor product and made a lot of stupid decisions. They ignored peak oil, and it’s time for all you free market capitalists to live by your mantra and let GM fail. But that doesn’t mean people have to go without jobs, or that we can’t remain in the forefront of production. 

We simply change.

Reeducated these workers and develop a New Deal/CCC program for green energy and organic, sustainable agriculture. Put them to work developing greener forms of transportation. 

Throwing more money at a failed model is simply stupid.

Obama’s first big move is to appoint a Israeli hardliner as Chief of Staff. Interesting, but not a surprising move. 

Emanuel supported NAFTA, supported the war in Iraq and is about as hawkish as you can get on Iran. He steadfastly works to keep military spending high, and he’s pro-business, having amassed a fortune of nearly $20 million in three years. 

Not that being “pro-business” is bad in and of itself. But when you hear “pro-business” in political terms, that’s a code word for growth, neo-liberalism and the use of militarism to support non-sustainable growth all over the planet. It’s the antithesis of sustainable, steady state economics. 

He’s a member of is a member of what’s know as the New Democrat Coalition (NDC), of group of center-right pro-business leaders dedicated to moving the party away from its progressive/liberal base. I question whether such a base really exists, but Emanuel is apparently dedicated to see that it doesn’t gain a foothold. 

The purpose and function of government is not to preside over change but to prevent change. By political methods when unavoidable, by violence when convenient.

As Edward Abbey once said “the purpose and function of government is not to preside over change but to prevent change. By political methods when unavoidable, by violence when convenient.”

As usual, Ed was right.

Looks like the terrorist and Muslim labels didn’t work so well, so conservatives are resurrecting an old boogeyman. Karl Marx. 

Apparently the Marxist label is the pejorative du jour in conservative parlance. Yesterday, while most of the country was celebrating the end of Bush’s reign of terror, the losing side was busy plotting a new strategy. I heard little talk of trying to come together in a mutual effort of problem solving. Talk radio, Facebook profiles, blogsites, coffee shop talk all had a common theme: the “end of America” being brought about by a Marxist President and his followers. 

It’s frankly amazing. Over the top and outrageous. 

Most of them took their cues from Rush, Michael Savage and their indoctrinated parents, pastors and coaches and starting rolling out the code words and propaganda with ease and efficiency. One thing I have to give them credit for is their ability to mobilize, en masse, like a bunch of army ants marching through the Peruvian jungle.

One guy called into Rush’s show and said he had “a message for the hundred thousand Bolsheviks in Grant Park last night….Conservatives need to take it to the streets and fight to save the country.”

It’s so silly, all you can do is laugh. No point in trying to discuss it with them, believe me. 

Marx wrote in the German philosophic tradition. It’s not easily understood by the untrained reader, and there are actually very few Marxist scholars in the United States.  So, even in liberal arts circles, it’s rare to find someone with real depth of knowledge about Marxism.  Why even bother discussing it with a bunch of people that either didn’t go to college or spent all their time in a business school? You’re wasting your time, and sending them to Wikipedia will probably only worsen their fear. 

And it’s fear that’s at the root of all of this. Fear, born of ignorance, and a stubborn state of denial we have about capitalism in this country. We insist on it being the Raison d’être for all peoples, yet we deny the basic non-egalitarian nature of the system. We can’t even begin to acknowledge the undeniable truth that growth capitalism, as we know now it, is perhaps the greatest threat to ecosystems man has created. 

Fear prevents us from discussing rational alternatives, like steady state economies, that could actually save capitalism.  And greed prevents us from even being willing to consider this question…

What’s so wrong with “spreading the wealth around?” Isn’t that what Jesus taught? Didn’t the first Christians live in communal sects? 

I hope someone will plant a seed in Obama’s capable brain about the relationship between our economic system and our environment and move us past this absurd notion that we can grow infinitely in a finite world. Give some consideration to how we can have capitalism and socialism; meaning, giving more people an equity stake through employee ownership of business and via cooperatives. That’s where real wealth is built, through equity, not 401K’s and casino-like Wall Street schemes. 

Now, someone please tell me what’s wrong with that?

Obama won, as expected. 

I was a skeptic, primarily due to his Wall Street connections, support for the Patriot Act and some troubling positions on energy. But he’s our President, and I’ll give him the shot he deserves. 

It’s hard for an old curmudgeon anarchist like me to admit a twinge of excitement over something having to do with the government. But I will. We shed a few tears at Casa Burns tonight, because it was exciting to see us move to this point as a country. It’s very moving. 

After eight years of hell, I feel like a dark cloud has moved and the sun is shining through again. 

And I might also add that John McCain conducted himself with class and dignity tonight. He reached out, attempted to control his booing, hissing minions and showed that he’s a real statesman. I was impressed by John McCain tonight, and felt as if he was almost embarrassed by how some of his supporters acted.

Let’s move forward and get busy with solving problems and healing division. Let’s develop a viable steady state economy that functions in tandem with healthy ecosystems. Let’s rediscover compassion and reach out to the less fortunate. Be a real leader in the world by leading through an example of peace and cooperation. Rebuild our transportation infrastructure, learn to live within our means and have some fun again. Look forward to future and not dread what tomorrow holds. Bury fear and relearn how to really live. 

We can be proud and should be proud to be American, and if we’re not, it’s our own fault.

Chipmunks are gathering food for their winter store. Canada geese and mallards migrate south through the Mississippi Flyway, circling flooded rice fields and soaring through river bottoms in places with names like L’Anguille, Stuttgart and Fair Oaks. Bears in the Smokies are fattening up for winter, getting their fill of berries and goodies as they prepare to head to the roost. A few will produce cubs which will emerge in the spring. Butterflies migrate to Mexico. 

The tomatoes are spent, and it’s time to prepare the garden for winter. The leaves continue to change and more will fall as the mercury drops, fertilizing the soil and protecting it from the winter frost.

The cycle of life. The really important things that sustain life on our little planet. They happen everyday, but most folks are oblivious to what goes on around them. We’re too caught up in stock markets, mortgage rates and elections. Our jobs, ball games, preparing for the holidays. Man made stuff and not all bad, but it does consume our thoughts and too often it results in things that are destructive.

Today, millions of humans will march to places we call precincts, form lines, pull levers or push buttons that signify who they want to be their rulers. I’d say representatives, but let’s not be funny. No one really believes that, do they? 

I suppose it’s important, at least to a debatable degree, since the selection can affect all the really important things most are oblivious to. Migration, inter-species relationships, soil, water, air…biology. Healthy ecosystems. We ignore all the incredible things going on right beneath our feet, under our noses and all around us, because we think we’re all so important.

It just seems so odd to me that this one single event, a U.S. Presidential election, is the national, perhaps even the international, obsession. It seems very small, almost microscopic, in the overall scheme of things. But we’re conceited as hell, self-absorbed and think we’re so goddamned important. 

We aren’t so important, but our actions are important, since we’re the ones mucking up the neighborhood for geese, chipmunks, bear and damn near every life form on the planet. 

So, today we have some choices to make. As for me, I’m going to till my garden in preparation for winter. Cover it with some composted leaves and other organic matter. Spend time outside and soak up all this wonderful fall weather and abundant sunshine.  Watch some birds. Read a book in the garden. Write a letter to a friend. 

I’m voting for change today, but probably not for Obama. Change starts with the choices you make; all the little things you do or don’t do every day. 

Oh, and I’m voting for Ralph Nader simply because he tells the truth, and I won’t be bullied by Democrats that want me to vote for a candidate beholden to monied interests. And Obama can’t win Tennessee so a little old protest vote won’t matter. McCain will carry the slave states.  

I’m going outside to soak up all this life around me. A glorious sun, my garden. Seems appropriate since that’s what we’re fighting and working for. The preservation of life. A restoration of the respect for all life, not just human life.

Are you old enough to remember when goods were produced by real craftsmen? High quality goods, built to last and that became heirlooms? Ever noticed that the furniture handed down by your great-grand parents was more solid and lasted longer than the pressboard crap you bought in 1983?

It’s in the trash heap somewhere, while the Boston cane chair grandpa bought in 1908 still sits in the living room, sturdy and strong as ever.

Somewhere along the way, we lost it. We lost our love affair with craftsmanship and embraced the “gotta have now,” low price mentality. We forgot about the real cost of goods. Craftsmen slowly dwindled away, and without out apprentices, so did their craft. A few survived, practicing the old ways in small towns, in the mountains of Appalachia and in the Ozarks. The vast plains of west Texas. New Mexican villages. The Amish.  And in big cities too, but be prepared to pay a handsome sum for their art.

The Commercial Appeal ran a story today about one such craftsman, a guy that produces hand made furniture using a hand powered lathe. It’s really fascinating and illustrates how we can live in community, producing quality goods locally and save fuel through the use of alternative power and local distribution. It’s a beautiful model for living. 

There’s a story behind every piece this man produces. A story about him and his craft that can be retold and passed down from generation to generation. Now, contrast that with the alternative….

“Honey, where’d we get this old thing?”

“I think we bought that at Wal-Mart. Maybe Free Wheelin’ Jim’s Fine Furniture when we bought the sectional. Hell, I can’t remember, but I’m sick of propping it up with books every time we have company. Throw it out.”