Totally asinine

" All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state."

Benito Mussolini

As if claiming a monopoly on violence wasn't enough, it seems that the state has claimed a monopoly on human decency as well.

Read more at the link, but take you blood pressure meds first.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-30/couple-fined-746-crime-feeding-homeless-people-florida-park

Tying it all together

I'd like to tie together a few things that recently came to my attention. I assume you read the previous blog post. If not please do so at this time. http://normorweird.blogspot.com/2014/05/but-at-least-you-won-die-in-drone-strike.html

Caught up? Ok. Now did you see last night's NBC interview with Edward Snowden?

No? Here it is then.


Next, I just finished listening to Dan Carlin's latest podcast (episode 275 if you are reading this in the future) and I really think anyone who is following recent events would find rather compelling. In it he draws some very good parallels with the tone and climate of the late 60's and early 70's and modern times. I've seen some strong similarities for several years as well, and they get stronger all the time. God forbid it flashes over to the riots and assassinations like then.

If so...well remember that Zerohedge article from the previous post?

Not a pretty picture when you take all these things together. The gripes of the TEA party and OWS crowd were never addressed. In fact, nearly all those problems are worse now. How long will people quietly put up with the illusion of democracy? How long will they watch their standard of living fall and prospects of hope for future generations dwindle?

I have no answer for that, but it appears that those in DC are making moves like they expect not too much longer. I think it is prudent if you plan accordingly as well.

...but at least you won't die in a drone strike!

" While the "use of armed [unmanned aircraft systems] is not authorized," The Washington Times uncovering of a 2010 Pentagon directive on military support to civilian authorities details what critics say is a troubling policy that envisions the Obama administration’s potential use of military force against Americans. As one defense official proclaimed, "this appears to be the latest step in the administration’s decision to use force within the United States against its citizens." Meet Directive 3025.18 and all its "quelling civil disturbances" totalitarianism..."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-29/meet-directive-302518-granting-obama-authority-use-military-force-against-civilians

Why bother with taking drones off the table? And like these ass clowns recognize any limitations on their power anyway?

If they choose to authorize this kind of force, and it doesn't go well enough, fast enough, they will do whatever they feel necessary to protect themselves and their interests, the law be damned.

Great post at WRSA

Check it out. http://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/fascism-fusa-and-the-future-2/

 Still think this is the land of the free?

Well maybe we should start acting like it then.

Decoration Day

" In 1868, General John A. Logan, who was the commander in chief of the Union Civil War Veterans Fraternity called the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), launched the Memorial Day holiday that is currently observed in the entire United States. According to General Logan's wife, he emulated the practices of Confederate Memorial Day. She wrote that Logan "said it was not too late for the Union men of the nation to follow the example of the people of the South in perpetuating the memory of their friends who had died for the cause they thought just and right."<sup>[5]"

from Wikipedia entryConfederate Memorial Day</sup>

Peer to peer communication technologies

Here's some links to some up and coming peer to peer communication systems. I like this stuff quite a bit, because if it takes hold it will build a much more resilient communication system that is not under central control. A very good thing.

Briar

Serval Project

Furthur

Nothing much to add. Hit the link.

http://m.vice.com/read/ken-keseys-son-is-planning-a-sequel-to-his-dads-legendary-acid-fueled-bus-trip

Tiny Houses

This is a pretty good little article about a college architecture program experimenting with small, affordable house design. I like it.

I think we will see more of this in the future as we run into two problems, that are of the same source; resource depletion and debt serfdom.

I think the tiny house movement and the reassessment of consumerist behavior in general can go a long way on addressing both problems.

How's that for function stacking?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2014/05/19/rural_studio_builds_brand_new_20_000_houses_in_alabama.html

H/T Claire Wolfe

The Sharing Economy

It sounds like free market reforms to me. And I tend to believe that free markets allocate scarce resources in the most efficient ways possible because innovation is encouraged.

So, lefties and libertarians unite!

http://reason.com/archives/2014/05/13/all-hail-the-sharing-economy-a-mushy-phr

The truth on war and American foreign policy

Ron Paul makes the case:

"Since 1945, our country has been involved in over 70 active or covert foreign engagements. On numerous occasions we have provided weapons and funds to both sides in a conflict. It is not unusual for our so-called allies to turn on us and use these weapons against American troops. In recent decades we have been both allies and enemies of Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and the Islamists in Iran. And where has it gotten us? The endless costs resulting from our foolish policies, in human lives, injuries, tax dollars, inflation, and deficits, will burden generations to come. For civilization to advance, we must reduce the number of wars fought. Two conditions must be met if we hope to achieve this."

More at:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-18/ron-paul-explains-why-they-hate-peace

This is a timely piece of writing that we should all reflect on at this time. Right now it seems we are on the precipice of global conflagration. The events in Ukraine and the tensions in Asia between the Chinese, the Japanese, and the Vietnamese are not likely to resolve themselves peacefully without fundamentally new thinking and systems to cultivate and allocate resources.

And make no mistake, greed over resources is at the heart of these conflicts.

The Vacuum

"The Vacuum, or, Calling the Cops on the Cops

It’s been a little over a month since the showdown at the Bundy Ranch. The many details of this event have been thoroughly discussed and analyzed throughout the patriot/Liberty community. To say that the Bundy Ranch Incident (sounds like a prog-rock band name, doesn’t it?) represents a paradigm shift in the relationship between American citizens and the federal government is an understatement. A lot of commentators in the patriot/Liberty community have looked at it from the perspective of resistance to a tyrannical government. I’ve recently begun looking at it from another angle."

Read more at the link below.

http://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2014/05/18/a-reader-sends-5/

For those of you out there thinking that legislation and law are the same thing...I suggest you do your home work. Study about Natural Law. Read some Bastiat.

Just because 535 ass clowns + 1 say a thing is so doesn't make it so.

Good little overview on TAILS and TOR

Silicon Graveyard gives a simple explanation on the how's and why's of TAILS and TOR. This post, as well as his other stuff, is recommended reading.

http://www.thesilicongraybeard.blogspot.com/2014/05/when-you-need-envelope-part-ii.html?m=1

Awesomely gross pictures

Scroll through these pictures. Awesomely gross. Enjoy!

http://www.wired.com/2014/05/awesomely-gross-medical-illustrations-from-the-19th-century

Wise words

I heard this a while back ago, on a podcast I listen to.

"May your gratitude exceed your expectations."

I've been thinking about those words lately. Things have been going really good for me since the beginning of the year. So good, in fact, that small hiccups in the flow of goodness give me pause. And lately there have been some hiccups.

So to keep from getting down on things and taking the chance that I will further interrupt the flow of goodness, I'm reflecting on the fact that despite the hiccups, life is treating me far better than I probably deserve.

If you find yourself unhappy or upset about matters in your life, consider those words. They might improve your mood.

Thanksgiving isn't just for November. It's for everyday.

Natural air conditioning based on passive cooling

http://permaculturenews.org/2014/05/16/keeping-cool-without-air-conditioning-part-i-the-cool-pool/

On police, tribalism, and institutional corruption

I'm not sure how many of you out there are familiar with the work of Daniel Quinn, but it is some very thought provoking and insightful reading. I highly recommend his work. His writing is quite critical of the status quo or "civilization" which he contrasts with tribalism. In Beyond Civilization he comes to better explanation of what tribalism really is and how it can be applied in our modern world.

See, he believes that a tribe is simply a group of people making a living together.  His examples in the book to flesh out the concept are traveling circuses and a small newspaper that he, his spouse, and some friends worked on together. One of the hallmarks is that while people have specialties, they also pitch in for the good of the group and work to maintain it. I think this idea has merit and you could apply it to a number of other professions. My father was a firefighter so I saw this way of life very closely and I have to say it applies.

Another tribal profession is police or law enforcement and I would like to examine it through this lens.

As we can see from Quinn's definition, the police are indeed engaged in making a living together. And  with examples I will cite, they will go to great lengths to preserve the good of the tribe. Most of the time when a group does this, it is a good thing. But with a tribe whose mission statement is to "serve and protect" when the good of the tribe and the mission statement are at odds, the tribe usually comes first. This is a problem for those of us not wearing the shield.

In fact, I assert that this very dynamic is what assures institutional corruption within police departments.

Lying to protect other tribe members is a common example and illustrative of the Law and morality being subverted for the tribes ends. Here's some examples:

• Salinas, California: Police said two officers shot a man to death who acted erratically and attempted to stab officers. But, one witness said that the man was already on the ground and stunned from a Taser when police shot him at least four times. Police, on the other hand, said the officers felt like their lives were in danger. ow.ly/wO95I  
• Update: Dona Ana, New Mexico (First reported 04-17-14): The sheriff’s deputy who was driving 114 mph when she hit and killed a pedestrian will not be charged with vehicular homicide. An official said proof to support that charge is not present in this case. She will be prosecuted for lesser included offenses. ow.ly/wuJWv 
•  Clearwater, Florida: Three police officers face suspension after an incident involving what appears to have been a drunken colleague getting a special treatment. Internal Affairs investigators found a fellow officer was allowed to go home without so much as a field sobriety test even though he appeared to be drunk. ow.ly/wpnKx
• " The worst misconduct for the month of April is the story of the five Chicago police officers who each took the witness stand to testify about how evidence was obtained in connection with a drug case. Each officer got up on the witness stand and told the same story, but not one of them was telling the truth.  Video evidence offered by the defense contradicted the coordinated falsehood that the police agents offered up.  This practice (called “testilying” by some) is  a serious flaw in the U.S. justice system.  Every now and then, like here, the veil is pulled back—this time thanks to video evidence.   Was this the very first time that these officers committed perjury?  How many cases like this are out there?"
• Above found at PoliceMisconduct.net

Excessive force for the sake of "officer safety", this often endangers the presumed innocent(remember that, eh?), and the general public. Examples:

• Miami, Florida: A total of 23 officers fired a total of at least 377 rounds at 2 unarmed men, killing them both. Bullets were sprayed everywhere. They hit cars, fence posts and neighboring businesses and blasted holes in a townhouse where a 12-year-old dove to the ground for cover and a four month old slept in his crib. ow.ly/wFz1v
•  Round Rock, Texas: A men was sitting in his car, charging his phone, when 6 police officers tried to arrest him, according to court documents. The man now is a quadriplegic after the officers’ “extremely aggressive use of force,” one of his lawyers said. ow.ly/wDjfh
• Above from PoliceMisconduct.net 
• This Reason.tv video should make your blood boil. Elements of excessive force and lies to save their own hides.

There are tons of examples. If your blood pressure isn't high enough, read a newspaper or go to CopBlock for an arterial stress test.

I believe that understanding that law enforcement agencies and police departments are tribes will go a long way toward helping us frame the problem of institutional corruption. When seen for what this is, it becomes clear that as long as law enforcement is a profession performed by a group there will be corruption and injustice at the expensive of those outside the tribe.

Little too late

"Cybernetic Civilization"

I saw this article a while back ago and thought the concept was really intriguing.

Here's a sample bit, but please follow the link to read the whole thing. It's not very long but it will likely change the way you look at the world and the system(s) we have developed around us.

" Humanity appears to be in the grip of a global system – one that we originally created, but which is now shaping our lives independently of our wishes.
I’ve recently begun to suspect that humanity is at a point of endosymbiosis with our electronic communications and control technology, especially through the Internet. In a sense, we humans have incorporated ourselves as essential control elements of a planet-wide cybernetic super-organism. The precedent for something like this is the way that mitochondria migrated as bacteria into ancient prokaryotic cells to become essential components of the new eukaryotic cells that make up all modern organisms, including us."

Read the rest here.

Food Forest video

Here's a good video with Geoff Lawton, describing how to design food forests in different climates.

Check it out: Designing Food Forests Across Three Climate Zones with Geoff Lawton

Mike Rowe tries to give away free money...

...and apparently is having a time of it.

Via The Smallest Minority:

Mike Rowe (of Dirty Jobs fame) has an organization he runs, MikeRoweWorks.com, that gives scholarships to students studying the trades. He posts on Facebook today:

Question: If I were to form "The American Idol Scholarship Fund" and announce $15,000 of professional training for anyone who wished to become a pop star, how long do you think it would take to give away a million dollars?

A day? An hour? A minute?

What if I offered the same money to anyone who wanted to learn how to maintain and repair diesel engines? How fast would the million dollars go then?

Currently, this question has no official answer. But I can tell you this - for the last month, mikeroweWORKS has been offering FULL-RIDE scholarships to one of the best trade schools in the country. And as of now - a big chunk of that million dollars is still up for grabs. Why? Because mikeroweWORKS scholarships do not reward fame or celebrity. They reward work ethic, and the willingness to learn a necessary skill. In other words, they are designed to train people for jobs that actually exist.

Last month, I shot a few commercials to announce my latest partnership with Universal Technical Institute https://www.uti.edu/mrw As you may know, UTI trains the technicians that keep America's trucks on the road. Not as sexy perhaps as the next American Idol, but a great place to find a few American Icons. Truth is, our Trade Schools play an important role in maintaining this thing we call "civilization," and given the preponderance of Help Wanted signs currently papering our transportation industry, I wanted to help draw some attention to another specific career that too many people simply overlook.

Anyway, this particular commercial didn't make it past Standards and Practices, for obvious reasons. But since I’m the only censor in these parts, I've made it available here, for the refined taste and sophisticated worldview of my 835,000 closest friends. http://profoundlydisconnected.com/naked-mike-unauthorized-video/ (Warning - Partial Nudity and Poor Judgment abound.)

Mike

I really like the work Mike Rowe is doing with this. For those of you who don't know me, I tried college and gave it up because it wasn't working for me. I picked a trade, applied my self and was making pretty good money in a couple years. With no student loan debt.

Now my case may not be typical, but who's is? The point is there are other paths to making a decent living besides college.

Here's a fairly recent Reason.tv interview with Rowe that sums up his thinking on these things. Well worth the watch.

F'ing F'ed up

From the Overheard section of the latest Woodpile Report:

"Fukushima - I watch NHK TVJapan with my wife. Over the past weeks they've had many specials about Japanese living great lives outside of Japan. In poorer parts of Asia and interestingly South America. Have never seen so many of these programs as NHK is very nationalistic. Seems they are prepping their citizenry for the eventual need to abandon Japan.
Infinite QE, comment 4726925 at zerohedge.com"

Organic lawn care for the lazy gardener

It is that time of year that lawns start to demand attention. So I thought I would throw Paul Wheaton some  linky love and pass this article along. Good stuff in there if you want to get away from chemical lawn amendments or are simply looking for a good excuse to be a lazy gardener.

http://www.richsoil.com/lawn-care.jsp

Save Charlie

Dark wallet

If you watched the whole video with Cody Wilson that I posted recently, you probably were intrigued by the bit where he talks about his new project, Dark Wallet.

Here is a pretty decent little overview from Wired. Enjoy!

http://www.wired.com/2014/04/dark-wallet