AADD Nation

As for diatribes: this will be a diatribe.

First, taxes. It's 10 in the morning, and I'm drunk. I alway get drunk to do taxes, as it's the only way it's sensible and keeps me from having screaming fits. As one who would claim to be a humanitarian, ecologically minded progressive, it fires me in the extreme to be compelled by law to "tithe" to the church of corrupt materialism, and it's certain that my tax dollars I pay go to, solely, undo any good I try to work in the world. It is absolutely measurable to show that of any dollar I pay in taxes, x amount goes to a corrupt kleptocratic banking system, to Haliburton, to bombing people for oil. . .and on down the line. It is pointless for me to protest, ineffectually, that I "don't support the war", when a very factual way I do. This has bothered me enough that for years I lived in a minimalist enough fashion that I paid no taxes--but I got tired of not getting laid so I changed my ways. Even the hippy chicks expect you to keep them fat in organic food(expensive) and weed. Ah well. I sold out and was back in the saddle in about a week.

It's official. I don't call myself an environmentalist anymore--I call myself a survivalist.

Just how fucking stupid are the American people? Seriously, I ask this non-rhetorically. I'm well aware that the vast majority of the US is profoundly screwed up and deliberately capital "F" dumb--like they believe the world is 10000 years old and angels walk the isles of Walmart. . .or that homeopathy is a science. . .but let's ignore that crowd and move towards people who have actually done a bit of education--perhaps we'll look at big buck fund managers--9 out of 10 which, in spite of their high dollar degrees, cannot out perform the indexes, or a team of moneys flicking shit at a wall, and where it sticks BUY. This is no hyperbole, mind you, this is a fact. As well it is a fact, that in spite out how I bitch, I seem incapable of overestimating the tremendous inertial effect of ignorance. In the great greater fools game we call the American Economy, I had begun to believe we are out of fools. Well, we haven't hit "peak fool" yet apparently. Last week, consensus: the financial world is ending. The Fed waves it's magic wand. Monday--all is saved! Seriously, who the hell believes anything has changed? As for myself, any crisis great enough that the central bank feels compelled to more or less give away a HALF TRILLION DOLLARS should scare any sensible person into the hills. But it hasn't. And that should scare you even the more.

So then, my freinds call me and tell me they are worried about their credit rating. I, am with rabid intent perfecting my wood gas generator and learning everything about this lost technology I can. It hasn't been simple. There are loads of information out, and on the net, for free, and all too often you get your money's worth. Yet progress is made, and the system runs, but woe to anyone who tries to undertake this project once the crunch finally hits. Er, you'll run that welder on what? Still, I've learned a bunch, and that's worth while, but gadzooks, what a hassle.

We have no idea what the value of fossil fuels really is. We take that utterly for granted. We seem incapable to relate to a world of unmechanized work, as we've never seen it--but again, the rule of thumb is that if you've got a gallon of gasoline at your disposal, you can get more work done in a day than you can in a month without. At that point, if work needs to be done, there is really no price at which fuel doesn't pay--a hundred dollars a gallon would still be cheap. Unfortunately, much of the "ecological progressive" community works in a world of academics and service, and has no connect whatsoever to reality. If they did, they'd be much more thoughtful. Even of the wilderness community, of those who have spent some time backpacking and understand the natural world to some degree--woodcraft--ie, primitivism and skills, is much lacking. Synthetic tents, clothes, and fossil fuel based cook stoves preparing vacuum packed freeze dehydrated meals. Getting back to nature, eh? Damn--it would be well that a dose of reality would be dumped on everyone. . .but I'd rather it would happen before the game was for keeps.