Friday, August 21, 2009

Simplify

"We must achieve the character and acquire the skills to live much poorer than we do. We must waste less. We must do more for ourselves and each other. It is either that or continue merely to think and talk about changes that we are inviting catastrophe to make."

Wendell Berry, from the essay "Word and Flesh," in the book What Are People For? North Point Press, 1990.
Found here.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

How To Protect Your Hard Earned Money From Financial Meltdown

On this amazing 87 minute DVD for 2009, Don and David McAlvany analyze the financial market chaos and its immediate impact on the real world economy . Order your FREE copy of "Conquering Chaos" today at www.orderdvdtoday.com or call 800 525 9556.

View the trailer.

Monday, August 17, 2009

excited about the prospect of having a dog again (and more animals)

As I am getting setup to live on my property, it is exciting to see the potential for applying what I am learning about a healthy lifestyle to the life of my animals as well. The classes and seminars I have been taking at Homestead have provided a lot of basics for understanding health from the ground up, literally, to plant, animal, and human. I just discovered on Dr Mercola's site, which I reference for human health, has also started an animal health site as well, mainly for dogs and cats. A lot of the same issues in the human health care system also applies in animal health and the veterinarian health care system. It is nice to see some of those trained in the system, able to see the weaknesses and speak out against the problems, and provide help for us as to how to best navigate through the system for true health.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

"Cash for Clunkers" - Destroying valuable items to stimulate the economy?

What is done with your cash for clunker trade-in, many of which are still usable? It is destroyed.
Well that's helping the environment and the economy then, right? Are you paying cash for the new car or are you getting more in debt? And many of the new purchases are for foreign made cars. So much for really helping the fundamentals of the USA economy. As for the environment, what effect does new car production have on the environment? What effect does scrapping a working car have on the environment?
We have to look at the bigger picture. I like this quote:
“In every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” The Iroquois Confederacy

Take a look at this tidbit from history:

During the Great Depression, millions of Americans couldn't afford to buy food. With food prices falling and huge surpluses of food building, the government decided to pass the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 which forced farmers to destroy crops and livestock in an attempt to artificially drive up food prices. The plan backfired and led to millions of Americans starving, prolonging the Great Depression for another six years.
From: http://inflation.us/cashforclunkers.html

Could cash for clunkers be just the beginning of more drastic measures to falsely prop up the failing economy but actually worsening the problem?