Friday, April 17, 2020

fear the feeder


FEAR THE FEEDER
The Oil Age has been great insofar as Cheap Eats. Actually, you can back that up to the Coal Age. The first mechanization of the farms allowed more former Northern farmers to go to their slaughter so that the agrarian South could be subjugated by the Industrial Elites who needed cheap commodities. To be fair to the fat capitalist pigs, they had loans on their factories and so the even fatter banker pigs had to be generously compensated. Without near free immigrant labor and near free commodities, they couldn't compete with English factories employing the landless peasants and free colonial commodities.
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Well, they could. It is called tariffs. But let us not get into all that. I only bring it up to remind you that a manufactured pandemic shut down isn't the first bait and switch screwing over the masses so that a few could profit ( the Dot Come Bubble took away the greedy working poor's pensions to pay for all that broadband Internet the elite needed to robotize more jobs ). But at least we got far cheaper food out of it. Granted, the food isn't as good as it used to be. Seventy years ago, the workers got real beef hamburgers ( no pink snot added ) and French fries and now they get corn derivatives in food shape.
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The problem with Industrial Agriculture, besides the obvious petro feedstocks, centralization, finance intensive, soil destruction and import vulnerabilities is that simply, we now have “feeders”. Like milk cows in the barn, we are dependent on them to agree to feed us. There is also ( as others have brilliantly covered ) the issue of our becoming meat cows rather than milking ones, but focus on one screw job at a time. THEY control the food ( by and large. You want to try to get enough land and amendments to grow your own grain? ).
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Growing your own food isn't impossible. It is desirable. And yet, the elite were never so silly as to cede control of the food to you. They controlled the labor market, long before Latino immigrants. Either slave labor undercut the wages of freemen, or European immigration did so. Then, long before Skynet, the robots took over. No job went too long before being replaced by a machine. Those uneducated peasant dudes throwing sabots into the early machines were a lot smarter than your Republican voting ass ( Lincoln=Republican. Hello? Anyone? ) supporting the exportation of your jobs.
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Computer chips replacing your jobs were just the latest in a long line of Job Controls, to keep your wages down and hence you controlled. What does that have to do with all that nearly free land we used to be able to get ( and still can, although a lot of it is then dependent on another control system, automobiles )? You have to join the system to buy the tools needed to farm, and to get that money you were competing with robot farmers. And they always sell for less. I've read many a take that organic manual labor land yields more than machine and petroleum farmed land. Care to guess WHY we keep the inefficient system?
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It is control. Feed Control. Only the banker run system can buy the thousands acres farms, staffing it with a million bucks in machinery. The “independent” farmer is competing with limitless pockets of corporations. The family farmer can feed himself, but not scale up to feed others. Low food prices are not a gift, they are a control mechanism. Your urban low wage worker can only break out by keeping the city job and living on a farm, but that is only viable without debt.
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Was rural electrification a gift to the rural poor? Well, right now, it just jacked up home values and increases the price of land. As does access to paved roads. You actually think we occupy the middle east and frack oil to deliver low gasoline prices and low food prices to you? All those low prices are to get you into the sales room to buy into their Way Of Life. Then they scalp you on the accessory prices. I don't care if gas is 99cents a gallon. You are putting it into a $30k vehicle ( and used cars were never cheap again after Cash For Clunkers ). Not to mention insurance and taxes.
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If you are growing your own food, you are paying off the farm land for thirty years, or need a motor vehicle, or need a job, or even all three. I'm not saying growing your own food isn't possible or undesirable. I'm saying they STILL control you even if you do. They have tweaked the system all through the centuries, 400 years of wage slavery, always changing with the times. JUST to hook up to THEIR Internet, the one you paid for but they control ( you think you control it? Try selling Nazi reproduction uniforms and books on White Supremacy ), to be “independent off grid”, you are looking at a nice chunk of change.
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You may scoff at $50 right now, but what happens when, at 30% unemployment, you lose many of your customers, PLUS they raise the price as THEY lose customers? And by the way, I'm not suggesting it is a good idea to sell Nazi paraphernalia or questionable literature. I'm just saying you will probably lose your web hosting and your payment processor. If you simply MUST sell them, I have a new fangled invention for you, called the post office. But the Internet is no longer about freedom of thought.
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Should civilized people spout hate and discontent? Probably not, but some folks don't think you should be shoving your tongue down your girlfriends throat, in public. As a courtesy, don't be a hater or engage in Public Display's Of Affection. But it certainly shouldn't be against the law, public or private. If you act as a public bulletin board, you shouldn't be allowed to engage as an editor. Anyway, just another control mechanism. First, no Nazi sales. Next, no “non-essential” sales like seeds. See how easy that works? If you ain't throwing sabots, you are ceding control. Continued tomorrow, with seeds and meat processing plants and, perhaps, planned famine.
( .Y. )
( today's related Amazon link click HERE )
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note: a most excellent article on Irish Independence, and the minutia of guerrilla conflict.  One of the best I've seen ( it's more than just fighting ) HERE 
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note: I misspoke the other day in the comments.  I thought that the book "They were white and they were slaves" ( HERE ) was $3 on Kindle.  Nyet!  That was "White Cargo" HERE .  I ordered the affordable one.  LaFond's Colonial Plantation books have a place, but I was disappointed with them in general.  
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note: Midway has $65 a case MRE's ( no heater ), as of noon Thursday the 16th.  Click HERE to see if still available.  Note also that MRE's are NOT Bison Approved.  But each his own.
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note: double biscuits for Exulted Minion for sending me to irs.gov and clicking on "non-filers: enter payment info here" to file for my Orange Man Stimulus Check ( since I didn't file the last two years, it isn't automatic that they send you anything ).
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note: from SRS Rocco, one of the few Worthies, love you bro!, comes a simple observation.  Canadian Tar Crap just sold for under $5 a barrel.  A 12 pack of Coke is selling for more HERE 
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29 comments:

  1. I've read about seed potato shortages in the USA. A neighbor of mine tried to get some from his usual source, and they were out. He was able to get some from a friend.

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    Replies
    1. I'd rather see meat shortages than potato shortages. You know its the apocalypse when there is no coffee or potatoes to buy.

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    2. Better early than late. We closed the gate on 3/2/20. A few shopping excursions since but staying on the farm. You're right about the difference between big ag and a small self sustainment farm. I've gamed it out and I cannot make a living with a small farm. The best I'll be able to do is provide my own high quality food. If I want any extra I'll have to work side jobs. Fortunately I've got enough skills that can perform craftsman work and command a higher wage. It's always better to be a Freeman working as a craftsman than as a landless wage slave dependent upon the 'fairness' of the system.
      And there's some tax benefits a small farmer can take. Just gotta use their rules against them. As Alinsky said make them live up to their own rules.

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    3. I haven't noticed any of the 9% living by their own rules, let alone the 1%

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  2. Echo Six Whiskey Ret'dApril 17, 2020 at 8:19 AM

    Excellent articles on Irish Independence, thanks for sharing. I was in Dublin and south of Ireland two years ago this month. I did not want to come back. Guinness tastes much better over there. I also took an excellent tour of the Easter Uprising 1916, it was condensed. I hope to go back someday and go on a bigger hike of the outlying battle sites. Have to keep checking that other site for part 3.
    Stay aware of your surroundings.

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  3. Just a few picked corporations to do everything. Far less workers needed. 22 addition million now, another 30 mill next month, 50% unemployment near guaranteed. And that is if the slide downhill is arrested. Your future isn't buying prepping supplies, it is farming on junk land to get fresh produce the one grocery store keeps running out of as even Mexican pickers get too expensive for the Suits tastes. Wait for those inflation adjusted wage cuts as workers become even more expendable.

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  4. Yep. They days of just applying by paper or electronically to get the next employment is over. There will be kickback payments or bribe graft required to "buy" most positions as a matter of new cultural norms. The demand will create and allow, again human nature of things, green room and casting couch seedy requirements to get the remaining scraps of employment or promotions. Re train those wives or daughters that me too is over, and that if the boss expects a quickie, ("just do it!") It is going to be a necessity of the desperation for employment to put food on the table in the new normals, if morals get in the way, some one else will step up cheerfully and go down in your place, supply and demand economics and all. They get those essential worker badge wearing jobs, you with the scruples and deplorable standards get the shantytown living. Stay frosty among the street shitting neighbors in your future.

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  5. Some random thoughts:

    I hope all Bison minions will try to grow some food this year. If you're new to the game of gardening, I will just say this: every year is different. Some things will prosper in excess, and others disappoint. Don't be discouraged. In honor of Bison you should also have a small plot of wheat. It's easy to grow.

    If you have a permanent residence, you should plant perennials such as rhubarb (get the red) and asparagus. Then get the berries and fruit trees planted. Just fucking do it. Now.

    A recent discussion here about canned meat got me to thinking about Spam. I have hated that shit for three decades. When I was a kid, my mom would slice it thin and caramelize it in a frying pan and I thought it to be just "OK". No attempts by me after leaving home have made it palatable. But Ol' Remus mentioned that it is probably still good for 6 or 7 years after the expiration date on the can and that we should stock-pile a few cases of it. Then I remembered: the Spam salad sandwiches that they always served in the basement of Lutheran Churches after a funeral when I was a kid was absolutely delicious. So I called my 85 year old mom and got the recipe. It's the best way to choke down Spam.

    -1 can of Spam
    -6 hard boiled eggs
    -3 carrots
    -1 cup mayonnaise
    -1 teaspoon mustard
    -1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
    -1 teaspoon vinegar
    -1 teaspoon sugar
    -1 small onion

    Grind it all into a paste via hand grinder or electric blender and spread on bread or crackers.

    You're welcome. Peace and safety. Get planting.

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    Replies
    1. Good lord, that recipe sounds foul. But with mayo and worcahachesterchister ( what I've called it since I was a kid. Yes, damn your eyes, I've always thought I was pretty hilarious ) sauce it has to be good. I've got to remember to try pickling some hot dogs. I hate dogs, but I hate regular boiled eggs too, so both might be improved. And then there is the egg farts and hot boxing NOL. She knows its coming, too :)

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    2. "Don't be discouraged. In honor of Bison you should also have a small plot of wheat. It's easy to grow."

      We planted grains (winter rye) for the first time back in November and it's over 4' tall now with minimal attention. The bonus of growing grains is that they are nitrogen fixers for heavy feeders like corn and tobacco which we'll plant in the same beds after the June harvest.
      -Robin

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    3. Mostly I'm growing spuds due to shade ( I'll move the location each year ), but I have one spot I can get two rows six feet long. I'll be trying wheat this year. Next year, after better soil prep, I have minion sent seeds to try.

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    4. My Lord,

      Remember, if you pressure can hot dogs, you get extra long vienna sausages. 😂

      On the subject of coffee and long term storage...

      I'm no connoisseur of "The Brew". I would not know, or appreciate great/good coffee if it jumped up and smacked my tail.
      But I can tell ya that, I'm still drinking Y2K coffee.
      I have several cans of folgers coffee (solid metal cans) that I'm still testing. I have finished the Maxwell House and after 20 years I've only had 1 can of MH that was funky. (still used it, but decided if I found another, I'd trash it.)
      Because they use plastic cans now, I buy the "bricks" and use them. The ones I'm pulling from now, have a best by from 2012.
      Like I said, I don't think I have the taste buds for what people look for in coffee. But, it still works for me every morning. 1 cream, 1 sugar in a big mug. 😉
      Two to get me going in the morning, and one for at work. 🤪

      Enjoy the weekend, my Lord.

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    5. Dammit! It was canning, not pickling I was trying to think of. Oh, well, I combined both dogs and eggs. I'll see what happens.

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    6. Spam spread is best served after being chilled in the fridge.

      Nothing better in life than "new" red potatoes that you grew yourself. Boil with the skin on, mash on your plate with a fork. Lots of butter. Salt and pepper to taste. I'm hungry just thinking about it.

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    7. Sounds better than the oatmeal I'm about to choke down

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  6. "Close your eyes and think of England, dear"

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  7. King rat. (Good movie too) Construct cages and infrastructure for some total guerrilla stealth animal rearing, storage, transport-quartering, etc. This is either for your own tribe gruel bowls, bribes +/or barter for goods, or as bait fodder in traps, snares, ambush sites, etc. A little piglet or bird cages secured in your B-Pod hermitage will not be an oddity come Apocalypse. Stay flexible and frosty.

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    Replies
    1. Squirrel = tree rat. It's alright fried. The males are tougher than a two dollar steak. Gotta put those in a small pressure cooker I'm told. I've never tried it. Your thoughts?

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    2. I haven't tried any meat in my presser cooker, sorry

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  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Nicer than dumpster diving, and more productive

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  9. What do countries do when the economy crashes? They go to war. Who can we blame for this situation? Trump or China. They are trying to blame Trump but it won't last, China has to be the fall guy. It can't be a small war, it has to be a huge war like World War 3. Get ready for the U.S to lose in 2021 and Americans becoming Chinese slaves.

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    1. Nuclear armed powers do not go to war with each other-so sayeth THE man, Van Creveld

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  10. On the news they are showing cars backed up in food lines. The fat bastards can't even get out, and walk up to get their free food, they have to drive.
    All of the cocksuckers are driving cars worth more than I could ever afford, and you should see the fancy rims on these bastards.
    They should be forced to sell any car worth more then 5 grand if you want free food.
    I saw a story about how the price of every extravagance was being priced at $1200 dollars. 84" big screen $1200, new weave made from Oprah and Barack pubes $1200 dollars, free Trump money let's buy more crack. We can always still hit the free food bank.
    I was hoping the Kung flu would kill a lot more.

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  11. The Stay Frosty dude never disappoints with his pithy analyses. To wit: "Less traffic for essential folks to be commuting and all."

    As much as I hate all the new, post-virus protocols, there are some positives. Commuting to and from work is a breeze, and I also do a good amount of driving during my workday. For the first time in 30 years, I actually enjoy driving again.

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  12. I just fear the traffic will go back to normal. It is nice, as our living room is on one of the busier residential streets, and now there isn't the constant noise. So, having LESS cars, the ones left keep revving their engines and breaking the speed limit. And the dingus lickers on Harley's of course have to advertise how small their junk is, now that it is above freezing.

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