This from the Survivalist Blog
Crop scientists fear the Ug99 fungus could wipe out more than 80 percent of worldwide wheat crops as it spreads from its home base in eastern Africa. It has jumped the Red Sea and traveled as far as Iran. Experts say it is poised to enter the breadbasket of northern India and Pakistan, and the wind inevitably will carry it to Russia, China and even North America — if it doesn't hitch a ride with people first. Read more here
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Appellate court upholds Chicago gun ban
Here is an excellent article discussing the recent appellate court case. Pay particular attention to the last paragraph which reads,
This seems to be specious legal reasoning to me. The Constitution specifically states that any matters not covered by it were to be left to the states. That obviously does not include the Second Amendment. If the Constitution is indeed the law of the land, it would seem to me that it would supersede state and municipal laws. Based on the judge's way of thinking, Los Angeles or Detroit could legalize slavery or coin their own money without running afoul of the feds.
John Adams, founding father and Sons of Liberty
We need to read and reread the original sources of our history. I’m reading the life of John Adams. In my opinion, he was the most profound intellectual stimulus in the American Revolution.
The following is an excerpt from the book John Adams, by Page smith, from vol.1 pages 110 and 111.
The entire quote is in red below. Please excuse any typos.
Take note of the informal creed they affirmed with their toasts, and the song they sang. Both of these cemented into their hearts and minds the need to be willing to fight for their freedoms. This all happened close to a decade before the actual war of the revolution took place.
The author is describing the events along with John Adam’s opinion of them.
There was no sign that the crisis with England would soon be dissipated. Rather, there was every indication that common action in behalf of colonial liberties would be a continued necessity. Such action must be guided and directed, must be turned from meaningless violence to restrained and orderly protest; a feeling of solidarity must be created and a temper that would, if worst came to worst, dare the utmost. This spirit must be forged and the day of testing anticipated. On the fourth anniversary of the founding of the Sons of Liberty, three hundred and fifty Sons gathered at Robinson’s Liberty Tree Tavern in Dorchester. Two large tables were laid in the open field beside a barn with an awning of sailcloth stretched overhead. A little “Tory” rain fell on the patriots but not enough to dampen their spirits. Philemon Dickinson, brother of the famous Philadelphia lawyer, John Dickinson, who had written an eloquent attack on the Townshend duties under the title of “Letters of a Pennsylvania Farmer,” was guest of the Sons along with Joseph Reed of New Jersey.
After a dinner washed down with generous quantities of cider came the toasts. These were the central feature of the patriotic festivals. They usually numbered forty-five in honor of the forty-fifth issue of the North Briton, the paper of John Wilkes, enemy of tyranny and advocate of the colonial cause. Forty-five gave the toastmaster a good deal to work with and considerably elevated the temper of the company. On this occasion as on most others, the toasts started with one to the King and then to the Queen, the Prince of Wales, Pitt, Conway, Barre and other “friends to colonial liberties,” to John Wilkes himself, to the thirteen sister colonies, to Runnymede and Magna Carta, to trial by jury and the classic inventory of an Englishman’s rights, and finally to “the speedy removal of all task-masters, and the redress of all grievances…the abolition of all craft and low cunning in Church and State,” and threateningly, “strong halters, firm blocks, and sharp axes, to such as deserve either,” followed by the discharge of a small cannon and three loud, if ragged cheers.
The toasts at such gatherings served as a kind of creedal statement. They were educational (in case some lately recruited patriots were slightly muddled about the principles of liberty) and inspiring, as they served to fix in men’s minds the main points at issue between the Mother Country and the colonies.
After the toasts there was other entertainment. John Balch, famous as a mimic, diverted the company with “The Lawyer’s Head” and “The Hunting of a Bitch Fox.” Then came the Liberty Song, written by John Dickinson and set to the tune of an old English drinking ballad:
Come, join hand in hand, brave Americans all,
And rouse your bold hearts at fair liberty’s call.
No tyrannous acts shall suppress your just fame,
Or stain with dis
honor America’s name.
Then the chorus …
In freedom we’re born and in freedom we’ll live,
Our right arms are ready,
Steady, men, steady.
Not as slaves but as freemen, our lives we will give.
Eat the Weeds
A week or two ago I came across this web page called "Eat the Weeds". The author has multiple videos on Youtube showing what plants are good to eat and how to prepare them. As time allows I would like to copy and save many of these on CD (I'll never remember all this stuff).
Started my garden last weekend
When I was a kid we had a massive garden. I used to think it was the biggest garden in the world, and I hated it. When I grew up I never got into gardening, but it was mostly at time and location thing. Now at the ripe old age of 40 I'm starting my first real garden. I still can't say that it is because I need or want another hobby, and it is definitely not because I love my veggies! However, I do love nearly everything outdoors and this is becoming enjoyable.
We have about an acre of ground but half of it is woods, so without major clearing of trees we have a very small area for the garden. I picked the spot that gets the most sun. Last year I cut about 8 trees to expand the yard and now that has created a good spot.
Another problem we have is deer. The nuts who live all around me seem to love feeding the deer. The result is that it is not unusual for me to see 10 - 15 deer within a half mile from my house. The deer are skinny and sickly looking because of overpopulation. They eat everything under six feet high. The result is that even though we live in a wooded area, I can see 200 yards through the woods because there is no vegetation left. To solve the problem of the deer eating the garden I am putting up a fence. I am fencing in an area that is 12 feet wide and 26 feet long. Unfortunately, this is costing me something, but if we are to have a garden it has to be done. The fence system coat me about $125. I put 4x4 treated posts in the corners and a few steel fence posts in between. The fence is 5 feet tall.
Now the soil was another problem. Our ground is mostly rock with a thin skim layer of dirt. Since I don't have a tiller and the ground was going to need massive improvement, I decided to go with raised beds. For these I bought 2x6 boards. I had a few laying around already and bought ten more for a cost of around $60.
What to do for soil. O how I wish I had a truck! But I do have a 5 x 10 utility trailer which I pull with my 98 Honda Accord 4 cylinder. The car will pull a full ton, no problem, but it has a big problem stopping anything over about 1000 lbs. (that's another story). I had to pay $30 for a one yard scoop of mulched topsoil at the garden center. Man do I hate paying for dirt! My favorite way to by dirt is to have a title in my hand at the end. But it was pretty nice dirt even if it was very wet and clumpy.
One yard of dirt would not even fill a quarter of my garden and I couldn't afford to pay for more but thank God for Craigslist. I found someone giving away horse manure about 30 minutes from my home. I drove down last Saturday and shoveled about three yards into my trailer. It was free and it was nice stuff! It is about two years old, the horses had been well fed with hay, and they had been bedded with sawdust. This made for a beautiful mulched compost dirt as the picture shows. There was almost no smell to it at all, but my bulldog knew what it was as was thrilled to root through it with his snout. If anyone in NEPA is interested in some free horse manure compost, let me know and I'll give you the contact info.
So now I've got my tomatoes, peppers, yellow string beans, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, zucchini, and even pumpkins for the kids all started. I still plan to put in corn, a few potatoes, cucumbers, peas, onions, radishes, and more if there is room. O, the size of the raise beds is two at 4'x10' and four at 2' x 10'. That gives me 120 square feet of raised bed garden.
As the garden grows I'll post more pics and information.
We have about an acre of ground but half of it is woods, so without major clearing of trees we have a very small area for the garden. I picked the spot that gets the most sun. Last year I cut about 8 trees to expand the yard and now that has created a good spot.
Another problem we have is deer. The nuts who live all around me seem to love feeding the deer. The result is that it is not unusual for me to see 10 - 15 deer within a half mile from my house. The deer are skinny and sickly looking because of overpopulation. They eat everything under six feet high. The result is that even though we live in a wooded area, I can see 200 yards through the woods because there is no vegetation left. To solve the problem of the deer eating the garden I am putting up a fence. I am fencing in an area that is 12 feet wide and 26 feet long. Unfortunately, this is costing me something, but if we are to have a garden it has to be done. The fence system coat me about $125. I put 4x4 treated posts in the corners and a few steel fence posts in between. The fence is 5 feet tall.
Now the soil was another problem. Our ground is mostly rock with a thin skim layer of dirt. Since I don't have a tiller and the ground was going to need massive improvement, I decided to go with raised beds. For these I bought 2x6 boards. I had a few laying around already and bought ten more for a cost of around $60.
What to do for soil. O how I wish I had a truck! But I do have a 5 x 10 utility trailer which I pull with my 98 Honda Accord 4 cylinder. The car will pull a full ton, no problem, but it has a big problem stopping anything over about 1000 lbs. (that's another story). I had to pay $30 for a one yard scoop of mulched topsoil at the garden center. Man do I hate paying for dirt! My favorite way to by dirt is to have a title in my hand at the end. But it was pretty nice dirt even if it was very wet and clumpy.
One yard of dirt would not even fill a quarter of my garden and I couldn't afford to pay for more but thank God for Craigslist. I found someone giving away horse manure about 30 minutes from my home. I drove down last Saturday and shoveled about three yards into my trailer. It was free and it was nice stuff! It is about two years old, the horses had been well fed with hay, and they had been bedded with sawdust. This made for a beautiful mulched compost dirt as the picture shows. There was almost no smell to it at all, but my bulldog knew what it was as was thrilled to root through it with his snout. If anyone in NEPA is interested in some free horse manure compost, let me know and I'll give you the contact info.
So now I've got my tomatoes, peppers, yellow string beans, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, zucchini, and even pumpkins for the kids all started. I still plan to put in corn, a few potatoes, cucumbers, peas, onions, radishes, and more if there is room. O, the size of the raise beds is two at 4'x10' and four at 2' x 10'. That gives me 120 square feet of raised bed garden.
As the garden grows I'll post more pics and information.
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