Go to college, they said. We'll have a few laughs, they said. It'll be great, they said...

Rachel Palmer shared a post on Facebook this morning and it brought to mind a blog I wrote a few years back when the Occupy Wall Street crowd was at its most strident.  It seems as applicable as now as I thought it was then, maybe more so.

...and while I'm on the subject, I feel compelled to point out that no less than Bill Murray offered up some excellent career advice for Ms. African Drumming Student years ago:  Janine...

With that, I present for your edification, Printer Repair Boy:

This picture appeared on the Occupy Wall Street website along with many other, similarly presented tales of woe and I don't doubt that this young citizen posed for this with the very sincere intention of telling his story and showing his solidarity with America's downtrodden.  But, in reading his little bio-in-Sharpie, I am forced to conclude that this is nothing more than the pathetic - and really embarrassing - admission of a failed life.

I will assume, Mr. Ex-Printer Repairman, that you are not so morbidly stupid as to have paid 87 Large to be trained as a printer repairman.  Under that assumption, you obviously borrowed eighty-seven thousand dollars to get a degree in something that did not make you employable when you graduated.  One can only wonder what your degree is in, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter.  At your age, I borrowed $36K to buy a house and it scared the crap out of me, but I recognized that I would end up with a house.  Did you know what you would end up with after your $87K expenditure?  Did you have a plan beyond spending four years on an all-expenses-paid bong binge?  Did you have an inkling of what the job market was for the skill you had chosen to train yourself in?  Or were you just fucking clueless on the concept of "borrowing"?  Whatever.  You took $87,000 of someone's money and now they want it back.  Welcome to the real world.  Be grateful you didn't borrow from someone who ties delinquents to some cinder blocks and tosses them in the East River.

Listen, broheim, I've been unemployed twice in my life and also underemployed for something like 3 years, although admittedly not underemployed-squared as your toilet cleaning job would seem to be, and it sucks.  Totally sucks.  Suckity-suck-suck-sucks.  I could even argue, with some legitimacy, that my unemployment was not my fault and the result of dark forces at work, incompetent corporate overlords, yadda, yadda, yadda.  However, for all that, it never even crossed my mind that anyone should be involved in fixing my problem except me.

I'll leave you with two thoughts, Mr. Ex-Printer Repairman:

1. The real unfortunates in your Sharpie bio are your cats.  Unlike you, they didn't get to pick the loser life they now have.
2. Capitalism has been much, much better to me than the government ever was.  Food for thought as you have your hand out for some of the alleged "Obama stash."

CORRECTION:  On closer examination, it would appear that, contrary to using a Sharpie as I stated, Mr. Ex-Printer Repairman used the mad skillz he picked up as a printer repairman and actually printed his bio.  Apparently, mom's basement is fully wired.  However, he did print it using Comic Sans font, which further highlights what a loser he is.

A rising tide of deceit...

The October issue of Geology had two papers and a commentary on the extent of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet in the mid-Pliocene (roughly 3 million years ago).  Both papers are pretty esoteric and I won't go into details of the work or the conclusions, but you can find the abstracts here and here.  The implications of these two papers are analyzed in a commentary that can be found here.

Why, you may ask, is this worth the attention of anyone outside of a handful of paleoclimatologists?  Simple.  One of the great boogie men of the Church of Global warming is that the sea level will rise, there will be massive inundation of coastal areas, millions will die, mass hysteria will reign, dogs and cats will be living together...in other words, total chaos.  Current Church dogma would put the sea level rise due to global warming at 40 meters (about 150 feet) above current levels.  This number assumes the complete disappearance of the Greenland Ice Sheet (which would raise the sea level about 25 feet), the disappearance of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (adding another 18 feet), and the rest contributed by the melting of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS), which by itself contains the equivalent of 175 feet of sea level rise, but even the most rapid climate change dogmatist is not predicting the total disappearance of the EAIS.

It turns out that the last time atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were as high as they are now was in what is know as the mid-Pliocene warm period (3.3 to 3 million years ago).  That being the case, it is a fair question to ask what the sea level was and what was the extent of the EAIS back then, which is what drove the work behind the two papers cited above.  Greg Balco, the author of the commentary, sums up the conclusions of the two papers (and earlier work) saying, "In 2009, it appeared that significant EAIS deglaciation must have happened even though it couldn't have. Now, subsequent research seems to show that although it could have happened, it is not at all clear that it did."

This last is a long, long way from saying the the science is "settled" and, given that all of the authors involved are Americans, one senses a bit of equivocation in their conclusions as they must all have future funding from NASA, NOAA, and NSF in mind and want to avoid being branded as "wrong thinkers".

Earth is warming as it has many times in the past.  Fossil fuel combustion may or may not be contributing to this warming.  The carbon cycle and the Earth's climate are both very complex systems that no one understands.  Where all this ends up is anyone's guess, but that is all it is...a guess.  Nothing is "settled".

Preparedness - The Tool Edition

     As stated in a previous post, I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but as far as the concept of being a "prepper" goes this hobbyist has his preferences. This is stuff I do actually take into the woods when I go. I've done the trial and error, underline error, and anything that I write here on this subject is going to come from experience, not theory.
     As a short aside, I'm going to say that my experiences are really only applicable to this region - The Upper Great Lakes region. MN, WI, IL, the Dakotas, MI, and climates similar. I don't know squat about venturing out into the desert, only a little about the mountains, even less about the swamp. My time is spent in the conditions of prairie and woods; sometimes hot, sometimes bitter cold.
     Anyway, in this post, I want to dive into the basic tools that I carry and why.

1. The Machete

     This thing has come in more useful than I could have imagined. Not just a blade, but a saw as well. I don't know if you've tried hiking through 4-5 foot tall prairie grass, I have, and it is not easy or fun. This tool helps get through almost any dense vegetation and the saw side makes short work out of trees up to about a foot in diameter.

2. The Entrenching Tool (E Tool)

     Basically, a small, collapsable shovel. The uses are innumerable. From digging yourself out in a blizzard, to scraping the ground before you pitch your shelter, to digging a hole to take a dump in, to digging a trench to divert water from around your shelter, and so much more. 3 positions; folded for carry, 90 degree angle for trenching and picking, and flat for digging, you are going to be glad that you have an E Tool.

3. The Hatchet

     It's both a cutting and pummeling tool. Blade and hammer. For instance, on my last outing I had no tent stakes, they stayed at home. (Oops) After cutting some appropriately sized branches with the saw end of the machete, I was able to taper the ends with the hatchet, then flip it around to drive the improvised stakes. The blunt end of this model isn't very wide, but is still very functional. I mean, it's a freaking hatchet - how do you not carry one of these things into the woods? In conjunction with the machete/saw, you can build a wooden hut in less than a day.


4. Bowie Knife

     At 9 inches of blade, this is a multi purpose implement. A sharp blade with some heft. A cutting tool, scraping tool, a blade that can handle delicate tasks as well as crude chopping, it is to the woods as a butcher knife is to the kitchen. Heavier and less prone to breaking in prying situations than a smaller blade, a piece of steel with substance.

5. Pocket Knife

     A step down from the Bowie, but very functional. The knife I use every day, multiple times a day in or out of civilization. The nice thing about this Stanley is that it also is a box cutter out of the back end. Light weight, small, locking blade, straight and serrated portions of the blade. One can cut and minimally saw with this blade. Lose everything else, and this fella is going to take you a long way, it'll just take longer.

6. Multi-Tool

     It's a pen knife, pliers, file, screw drivers, scissors, can opener, gauge. Do I really have to explain why you should carry one of these? I carry one everywhere but bed, even then it is on the night stand. I fixed a Croc Pot with this, it does freaking everything.

7. Fillet/Boning Knife

     Okay, this one is not essential, but it's nice to have. A long, super sharp, razor thin knife for gutting fish, butchering small game, etc. Thin, flexible, it moves between and around bones like no other blade. This is a specific use tool. It's good for cutting flesh and nothing else.

     Some carry more, some carry less when going into the wilderness or as part of their bug out kits. I've found this to be an adequate and fairly light weight set of tools when venturing out. The thing about this set is that allows you to not carry shelter outside of a light tarp. This array will actually enable you to construct shelter swiftly and advance your comfort level over time. Shelter, general utility, and the processing of fish and game. This basic set will serve you more than adequately.

     As with any set of tools, user abilities are key. This basic set, when the individual items are used in concert with one another outside of individual and specific use, will serve and perform beyond basic needs.

A Tale of Two Windmills

“Destiny guides our fortunes more favorably than we could have expected. Look there, Sancho Panza, my friend, and see those thirty or so wild giants, with whom I intend to do battle and kill each and all of them, so with their stolen booty we can begin to enrich ourselves. This is noble, righteous warfare, for it is wonderfully useful to God to have such an evil race wiped from the face of the earth."
"What giants?" Asked Sancho Panza.
"The ones you can see over there," answered his master, "with the huge arms, some of which are very nearly two leagues long."
"Now look, your grace," said Sancho, "what you see over there aren't giants, but windmills, and what seems to be arms are just their sails, that go around in the wind and turn the millstone."
"Obviously," replied Don Quixote, "you don't know much about adventures.” 
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote

Compare the ravings of a literary madman, to the duly elected leader of the free world 

"No challenge  poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change," said Obama in a 2014 State of the Union Address (from CNN))


Or this from Secretary of State John Kerry

 " When I think about the array of global climate – of global threats – think about this: terrorism, epidemics, poverty, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction – all challenges that know no borders – the reality is that climate change ranks right up there with every single one of them. And it is a challenge that I address in nearly every single country that I visit as Secretary of State, because President Obama and I believe it is urgent that we do so."



Or this from our National Security Advisor  Susan Rice

"Today, we face no greater long-term challenge than climate change, an advancing menace that imperils so many of the other things we hope to achieve,” 


Our current crop of Democrat presidential contenders also are not immune. On twitter, in a tweet about the GOP primary debate on national security, this is what he had to say...

Fifth #GOPDebate is over. Like the first, not one word about income inequality, climate change, or racial justice. The Rs are out of touch.

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) December 16, 2015

 Yeah Bernie, you're hip to the times.

And let's not forget Hillary. From her own campaign site  "Climate change is not just a moral and economic issue, it is a defining national security challenge of our time."


All of them tilting at windmills hoping that we will believe like the believe that they indeed are giants worthy of our fear. Chasing after their imaginations while ignoring the very real security threats our nation faces. 


After all this talk of windmills and green energy, one can't help but think of another fictional windmill. Initially the brainchild of Snowball, the windmill on Animal Farm was taken over by Napoleon. All the lowly farm animals were to sacrifice their needs for the benefit the farm. No other matter was more important to the security of the farm. The windmill must be built for the betterment of the future. After several disasters, the windmill was finally finished. Unfortunately the porcine elite had made other plans for the device. Instead of providing the labor saving energy promised, the pigs decided that it would be better put to use grinding grain for the making of alcohol, for consumption by them and for sale to the humans.

One would be naive to not suspect the same sort of pig manure going on behind the scenes at these global summits. We know our energy prices go up due to the environmental demands made on the power companies and fuel providers. We have also seen the calls for us to ride our bikes while the elites fly in private jets to these crisis talks. Also apparent are the subsidies and contracts given to unsustainable and untried green energy companies. Mirroring Orwell's fable of corruption and greed masquerading as common good.

One almost wishes we could blame it on insanity.

The Secular Leftist Fusion Of Church And State

     Recently, a devoutly Christian friend expressed a degree of frustration with aspects of the treatment of Christians in contemporary culture. Her moment of frustration, specifically, 

     

     Now, I’m a Godless heathen. I, and other fellow heathens that I know have found ourselves in an odd, unexpected place – defending Christians freedom to practice their religion in the manner they see fit. Heretic that I am, I’m going to take a shot at both defending Christians ability to practice their faith in the manner they see fit and try to address my friend’s frustrations.

     At the heart of the matter, the secular left does not understand the First Amendment; the part that says, “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” in regards to religious expression and/or practice.

Amendment I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The secular left also has a hard time with the “shall not establish,” part. There has been a long standing blurring of lines in regards to expression versus establishment by Atheist organizations, as well as a contortion of distinguishing between a state house and an act of congress. Under a thin veil of “civil rights,” there has been a judicial as opposed to legislative approach to the chiseling away of the bedrock of religious practices where public eyes may fall upon the practice of living by the edicts of ones specific sect.
     The secular left is, in a strange and contrarian manner, INSISTING on a state definition or sanction of religion; an establishment of sectarian permissible practice, an ESTABLISHMENT of religion, an establishment of secular interpretation upon sectarian practices and expression of religion. It is an imposition of a State sanctioned and regulated Religion.

Yah, it’s totally ass backwards, in regards to the Constitution. 

     Look, it's just this simple, my friend(s); the secular left has no regard or concern for religious faith, principal, practice, and will take every opportunity to manipulate and distort the scriptures of your sect and use relativism to turn those edicts upon their ear as a weapon against you as a means to their self comforting, self serving ends.