Erstwhile Urban Wanderer

November 29, 2008 – The circumstantial evidence of Mr. Obama’s ineligibility to serve as the President of the United States seems, as they say, overwhelming.

By Dave Eriqat

As I stated in my own comments to my post, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Government, I have doubts about Mr. Obama’s eligibility to actually be the president of the United States, according to the inviolable requirements imposed by the Constitution.

I am totally non-partisan and would describe my political inclination as libertarian or even more accurately, anarchist. Unlike some partisan folks, I do not seize upon every little piece of news or every discrepancy as evidence that Mr. Obama is ineligible. Until recently the issue never even entered my mind. Nevertheless, my reason for writing this post is that every time I run across another unsought and unexpected piece of evidence, my doubts about his eligibility grow. It is precisely because I continue encountering more such evidence that I felt this issue warranted a deeper examination.

I had doubts about Mr. McCain’s eligibility as well, since he was born in the Panama Canal Zone. With the election now behind us, those doubts are obviously no longer relevant. Besides, if I understand the spirit of the Constitution correctly, if the Panama Canal Zone were a U.S. territory at the time of Mr. McCain’s birth, then his birth would qualify as “natural born.” No such territorial generosity can be accorded the nation of Kenya, however, if, in fact, that’s where Mr. Obama was born.

I honestly don’t care who is the president since I regard all of our so-called “leaders” with equal cynicism. But until anarchy is declared to be the official system under which we live, I still harbor a certain loyalty and devotion to the Constitution, tattered and shredded though it is. And it unequivocally states that only a natural born person may be the president. My only interests are ascertaining the truth and abiding by the laws of the land, the highest of which are enshrined in the Constitution. And unlike the Bill of Rights, this natural born requirement is no afterthought, but one of the original articles of the Constitution. So in contrast to the question of which intern the president is “entertaining” in the Oval Office, which is nobody’s business, the matter of a president’s Constitutional eligibility is everybody’s business, and Mr. Obama has a duty to all Americans to dispel any doubts they may have about his eligibility. If he’s not willing to answer this question and lay to rest the issue of his eligibility once and for all, then he really shouldn’t have been running for the high profile office of president in the first place.

Evidence in Favor of Mr. Obama’s Eligibility

A number of left-leaning web sites have published images of Mr. Obama’s Certification of Live Birth, which I repeat, is not the same thing as a Birth Certificate, so it’s not very substantial evidence in Mr. Obama’s favor. However, I did run across an image of a newspaper clipping announcing Mr. Obama’s birth in Hawaii.

Newspaper clipping from The Sunday Advertiser, dated August 12, 1961, announcing Mr. Obama’s birth in Hawaii

I accept this image at face value and regard it as the strongest evidence in favor of Mr. Obama’s birth in Hawaii. However, I examined the larger portion of the newspaper page in highly magnified detail and could not verify that the above clipping was actually excerpted from the larger portion which has the date on it. It would be valuable to have a better quality image of the larger portion of the newspaper page, with enough resolution to actually see the above clipping.

I’d also like to point out that many people, believing that the ends justifies the means, would not have the slightest reservations about fabricating evidence such as this. Consequently, every new piece of evidence, pro and con, introduced into this contentious issue needs to be authenticated. While I accept, for now, this evidence at face value, I will not be entirely satisfied with it until it is properly authenticated.

It’s highly doubtful to me that in 1961 Mr. Obama’s parents were planning ahead to the 2008 presidential election and “planted” this piece of evidence in order to reinforce their son’s eligibility for the office! However, his mother – being an American citizen – might naturally have wanted her son to also be an American citizen, and may have thought it proper to declare him as American-born even if he were born in Kenya.

So in addition to authenticating the newspaper clipping shown above, we must also investigate how the newspaper came to learn of the news of Mr. Obama’s birth. Was the news relayed to the paper by Mr. Obama’s parents, a relative or a family friend? Was the news telephoned to the paper? Was it reported to the paper by the state? Was it gleaned from state records by the paper? The source of the information and the timing of its delivery is more crucial than its actual publication in the paper.

Evidence Against Mr. Obama’s Eligibility

Although there is a single, solitary piece of evidence – the above newspaper announcement – in support of Mr. Obama’s birth in Hawaii, there are several pieces of evidence to the contrary.

Mr. Obams’s Own Reticence

First, Mr. Obama’s own reticence and seemingly dismissive attitude about this matter is troubling for two reasons. Either he lacks a birth certificate proving his natural born status in the U.S., in which case he is knowingly violating the Constitution and thumbing his nose at the rule of law before even taking office! Or, he possesses such a birth certificate but feels it’s “beneath” him to dignify these legitimate questions about his eligibility with a response, which would indicate imperiousness and a disturbing indifference toward the very people he claims to represent. A third possibility, raised by an article I read this morning, is that Mr. Obama is simply waiting for an opportune time to reveal his genuine birth certificate proving his birth in Hawaii in order to cause maximum embarrassment to those who have questioned his eligibility, which, if true, would be extremely childish and needlessly prolong this damaging uncertainty. I see no other possible explanations for Mr. Obama’s failure to present a genuine birth certificate, and none of these explanations are suggestive of the exemplary qualities we hope to see in a president.

Certification of Live Birth

When I first saw Mr. Obama’s Certification of Live Birth, which was posted on various web sites, I accepted it at face value and didn’t question its authenticity. I merely noted that it was not a birth certificate or a copy of one. For amusement, I examined my own birth certificate this morning (actually a photocopy of the original), and it looks nothing like the document Mr. Obama presented.

My birth certificate – issued just one year before Mr. Obama’s – is a fill-in-the-blank form, in which most of the fields were filled in with a typewriter, others were signed by hand, and still others were stamped with a rubber stamp. That’s what I would expect Mr. Obama’s original birth certificate to look like also. The Certification of Live Birth (COLB) is merely a kind of affidavit, stating in effect, “Yes, we have an original birth certificate on file.” Well, then let’s see it.

Although I didn’t initially doubt the authenticity of the image posted by Mr. Obama, after reading this lengthy article this morning I took a closer look at the image of Mr. Obama’s COLB published online, and I have to say, I now doubt its authenticity. (I think the analysis described in the above article is at times nitpicky and makes a big deal about some minutiae, but I agree with its overall conclusion that the COLB image made public is a forgery.)

I’ve been working with digital images for more than two decades. In the mid-1980s my company was a pioneer in cosine-transform-based image compression, the fundamental algorithm underlying the JPEG standard, and participated in formulating the JPEG standard. So I have great familiarity with compressed photographic images (including scanned documents like Mr. Obama’s COLB). Over the years I’ve scanned hundreds of photographs, halftone images, diagrams and pages of text, and created hundreds of digital drawings and diagrams on the computer. So I have a keen appreciation for the differences between photographic images and computer-generated images (including computer-generated fonts).

Self promotion complete, take a look at these scanned images.

Mr. Obama’s COLB, compared to another Hawaii COLB and a state-issued automobile Certificate of Title

The image in the upper left corner is from the COLB image Mr. Obama made public; the one in the upper right corner is a scan of another COLB issued by the State of Hawaii; and the one on the bottom is a scan made by me of a state-issued automobile Certificate of Title. The upper right and bottom images look like authentic scanned images. Notice how the background features butt up right against the superimposed text, and how the text and background have the same intensity and sharpness. But look at the image in the upper left (click on the image for a higher resolution version). Granted, the entire image is sharper than the one on the right, but the text is noticeably sharper than the background, and there seems to be a white corona around the text. In stark contrast to the other two images, there is a visible separation between the background and the text.

When a high frequency edge, like that between the text and the background, is compressed, it does not produce a white corona around the text, like that seen in the upper left image. It produces a noisy aura around the text, which can be seen in the upper right image. In other words, the white corona seen around the text in the upper left image is not an artifact of image compression. I’m not sure what caused the white corona around the text, but my guess is that it’s indicative of some sort of image manipulation handiwork. The white corona may even have been deliberately added to help blend the text into the background. Perhaps overlaying sharp, computer-generated fonts onto the comparatively fuzzy background was too obviously phony.

In my opinion, the image in the upper left looks as though someone scanned a genuine COLB – perhaps a blank sheet containing only the background pattern and no text – and then used a computer to place the text onto the scanned image. Then, to partially “blend” the text into the background the image was heavily compressed. The noisy aura around the text in both COLB images above is indicative of a high degree of compression. By comparison, there is no such aura around the text on the scan of the automobile title because it was not as highly compressed. In addition, the scan of the automobile title, which appears to be the same physical size as, and a moderately more complex image than the COLB, resulted a file 92 MB in size, whereas the COLB is only 1.4 MB in size. Even reducing the scan resolution to 300 DPI from the 600 DPI I used would presumably have resulted in a 23 MB file, and that’s compressed with JPEG just like the COLB. So clearly, the 1.4 MB COLB image is highly compressed, which tends to greatly obscure important image details. My analysis of these images could be totally flawed, but in my opinion the image of Mr. Obama’s COLB has been doctored.

If true, then the issues take on a more sinister character, because not only would Mr. Obama be continuing to pursue a job for which he knows he is Constitutionally ineligible, but he would have forged a document in the furtherance of that goal.

Kenyan Citizenship

Mr. Obama’s own web site, Fight the Smears, says right at the bottom:

When Barack Obama Jr. was born on Aug. 4,1961, in Honolulu, Kenya was a British colony, still part of the United Kingdom’s dwindling empire. As a Kenyan native, Barack Obama Sr. was a British subject whose citizenship status was governed by The British Nationality Act of 1948. That same act governed the status of Obama Sr.‘s children.

Since Sen. Obama has neither renounced his U.S. citizenship nor sworn an oath of allegiance to Kenya, his Kenyan citizenship automatically expired on Aug. 4,1982.

By his own admission, Mr. Obama was a citizen of Kenya until he reached the age of 21 years. I don’t think the authors of the Constitution intended to permit a person who was ever a foreign citizen to be president. After all, they made an explicit exception to accommodate the foreign citizens who resided in America at the time the Constitution was adopted. The rationale behind the natural born stipulation is to preclude confused loyalties to nations besides than the U.S. Thus, the spirit of the Constitution would seem to rule out anyone who was ever a citizen of another nation from being president.

Mr. Obama’s Grandmother

According to Philip J. Berg, whose lawsuit is pending before the Supreme Court, one of Mr. Obama’s own grandmothers has attested that she was present when Mr. Obama was born in a hospital in Kenya. As explained in this article:

But Berg explained to Savage he believes Obama’s mother was near the end of her pregnancy and unable to travel by plane, so Obama was born in Kenya. The family then traveled to Hawaii and registered the birth and submitted the newspaper announcement.

The belated announcement of the birth, after coming to the U.S., would explain why the newspaper clipping shown above exists and appears to be authentic. Despite the birth being announced in the U.S., the fact would remain that Mr. Obama was born elsewhere.

Some might dismiss this objection by pointing out that Mr. Obama’s mother was an American citizen. However, according to this article, his mother was unqualified by virtue of her young age to confer U.S. citizenship upon her son if he were born outside the U.S. In other words, if he were born in Kenya he would not automatically be a U.S. citizen at birth, which would seem to be an essential element of the natural born stipulation.

Radio Show Calls Kenyan Ambassador

On November 6^th, right after the election, a radio show host engaged in a stunt by calling the Kenyan Embassy in Washington, D.C. The purpose was to make light of the new relationship between America and Kenya (ensuing from Mr. Obama’s familial ties to that nation). After quite a bit of chit-chat with the Ambassador, the radio host eased into the question which appeared to be the primary objective of his telephone call:

[Radio host] Fellhauer: “One more quick question, President-elect Obama’s birthplace over in Kenya, is that going to be a national spot to go visit, where he was born?”

[Ambassador] Ogego: “It’s already an attraction. His paternal grandmother is still alive.”

Fellhauer: “His birthplace, they’ll put up a marker there?”

Ogego: “It would depend on the government. It’s already well known.”

The radio hosts were actually taken aback by this tacit admission that Mr. Obama was born in Kenya and sought to clarify it further with the Ambassador. At no time did the Ambassador seem confused about what he was saying or aware of the serious Constitutional implications his admission harbored for Mr. Obama. Later, one of the radio hosts had this to say:

[Radio host] Clark told WND he began researching stories about Obama’s birth before his call.

"For two weeks prior to the election, I had been reading on the air about this business of Obama needing to be disqualified because he is not a legal U.S. citizen and that he was born in Kenya and moved to Hawaii where he never properly naturalized," he said. "I always assumed if there was any truth in any of this, hillary [sic] would have found out and taken care of this issue a long time ago."

Clark continued, "Given the fact that I had read so much of this on the air, it was a natural question to play around a little bit and suggest as a joke that Obama was born in Kenya."

So what began as an amusing radio joke has taken on rather serious overtones.

The Year 2000 All Over Again?

In the year 2000 the Supreme Court improperly intervened in the presidential election that took place that year, and essentially appointed George W. Bush to the presidency. As a result, the next eight months of the new president’s ignominious administration were shrouded by illegitimacy. It was looking as though his administration would be a one-term failure. Then September 11 happened, completely erasing the stench of illegitimacy and sending the president’s approval rating soaring.

So what might occur over the next couple of months, with respect to Mr. Obama’s questionable eligibility?

Mr. Obama Does The Right Thing

One possible outcome, one that I’m quite skeptical will come to pass, is that Mr. Obama does the right thing and presents his original birth certificate, it’s authenticated by a document expert, and the issue is over and done with, all questions about his legitimacy satisfied. This would be the best possible outcome and will give Mr. Obama a legitimate foundation from which to govern.

I don’t expect this outcome for the simple reason that Mr. Obama could have effected it long ago but did not. There must be a reason why he did not. In addition, there’s reason to suspect that he or his aides attempted to deceive the public into believing that Mr. Obama possessed a birth certificate proving his eligibility. Again, that behavior suggests that he lacks an authentic birth certificate proving his eligibility.

Supreme Court Rules In Mr. Obama’s Favor

Another possibility is that Mr. Obama refuses to provide any more documentation proving his eligibility and the Supreme Court rules that he is eligible nevertheless, and is once again instrumental in placing a president in office. This outcome would produce the same air of illegitimacy as the “Do Nothing” outcome below, suffering Mr. Obama’s presidency with the same inauspicious start as that of his predecessor.

Supreme Court Rules Against Mr. Obama’s Eligibility

A third possible outcome is that Mr. Obama refuses to provide any more documentation proving his eligibility and the Supreme Court rules that he is ineligible. That would be a stunning and breathtaking decision which would throw the whole presidential election into uncharted waters. In that case, would the vice president-elect become the president? Would the runner up – Mr. McCain – become the president? Would the current president remain in office until a new election can be held? The chaos that would ensue in the event of this outcome makes me think it’s a highly unlikely one.

Do Nothing

The final possibility is that Mr. Obama refuses to provide any more documentation proving his eligibility, the Supreme Court declines to issue a ruling, and the so-called mainstream media ignores the whole issue or downplays it as a tempest in a teapot.

This outcome seems to possess the highest probability of coming to fruition. Steadfastly ignoring the issue has certainly been the approach of the mainstream media so far. That surprises me not in the least, because Mr. Obama was the clear selection of the elites who run the world, the very same people who own the mainstream media. Naturally, they’re not going to permit their own media companies to do anything to undermine their chosen functionary.

In addition, of the approximately eight lawsuits filed challenging Mr. Obama’s eligibility, several have been summarily dismissed, including the one filed by Philip Berg, which he appealed. Disappointingly, the court which dismissed the case declared that a mere citizen has no standing from which to challenge the candidate’s eligibility. How ironic and sad it is that a government of the people, by the people, and for the people regards the people as impotent. This case also exposed a shortcoming in the Constitution, namely, by what procedure are we to vet a candidate’s eligibility or challenge it? I suppose it’s up to the Electoral College at this point unless the Supreme Court decides to intervene again. The uncertainty about how to address this issue may well make simply ignoring it the most attractive option.

If nothing is done and Mr. Obama is sworn in as the president, he will suffer under the same stigma of illegitimacy that Mr. Bush did, to a lesser degree since so few people are even aware that there is a question about Mr. Obama’s eligibility. Nevertheless, the people who are aware of the issue will not recognize Mr. Obama’s legitimacy, including myself. Such refusal to recognize his legitimacy is not borne of mean-spiritedness, but devotion to truth and the Constitution. Unless this legitimacy deficit is huge, I don’t think it will matter much to the new president, although it will represent one more nail in the coffin of our once great republic and give the people who withhold their approval yet another reason to seek to form their own communities separate from the U.S.

On the other hand, should this legitimacy question assume large proportions, it would not surprise me to see another engineered “crisis” to make the people cast aside their questions about Mr. Obama’s legitimacy and rally around their president.

Conclusion

I believe I’m spitting into the wind here, that my legitimate questions about Mr. Obama’s eligibility are unwelcome and futile. So why do I write eight pages of drivel exploring this question? I really can’t say. Perhaps deep in my mind I harbor a remote hope that America can find its way back onto the tracks.

I’m not trying to rain on anybody’s parade or cause anyone any grief, and I have absolutely nothing against Mr. Obama, but I believe he is ineligible to be the president, solely by virtue of his having been born in Kenya. At the same time I have little doubt that Mr. Obama will be sworn in as the next President of the United States. That occasion will represent not a triumph – of overcoming racial barriers, “hope,” “change,” or anything else – but another step away from the rule of law and toward this nation’s demise.

Questioning Mr. Obama’s eligibility is not a case of making a mountain out of a molehill. Actually, it’s the opposite. The question is a mountainous one which Mr. Obama’s elite masters and his adulating “change”-seeking supporters are attempting to turn into a molehill by either ignoring the issue or trivializing it.

Fundamentally the issue boils down to whether we, as a nation, are going to observe our own laws, especially our most sacred ones, or simply ignore them whenever they prove inconvenient. If the latter (which has certainly become a popular trend – think of the financial bailouts), then we might as well quit pretending that there are any laws or rules and begin making preparations for the aftermath of our nation’s denouement.

Update – 27 December 2008

As anticipated, the fix is in – it was so for the year leading up to the election – and the president-elect is almost certainly going to be sworn in as the next president. The elites who control the world, and most importantly, the media, have decreed it so, and so it shall be.

Nevertheless, we can at least amuse ourselves with the illegitimacy into which we’ve descended. Here’s (black) Pastor James David Manning demanding that Mr. Obama, “that long-legged mac daddy,” produce his “dog gone birth certificate.” It’s pretty amusing even though he’s serious.

Update – 03 January 2009

Despite my expectation that Mr. Obama will be sworn in as the president, eligible or not, a lot of people won’t let the question of his eligibility die. This site claims to have proof of his ineligibility. And the tabloid, Globe, has the question plastered all over the cover of its latest issue:

I hope people keep poking this hornet’s nest, even after the new decider takes office.

Another thing I’ve noticed, even at the “progressive” web sites I troll, is that Mr. Obama’s honeymoon appears to be over already, and he hasn’t even been sworn in! Even so-called progressives are smelling the stench of his recycling tired old corporatist elitists to staff his administration. And look who endorses Mr. Obama: Karl Rove and Robert Mugabe! Talk about your recommendations from hell. The people who supported Mr. Obama want to remain optimistic, but it’s getting more and more difficult for them if they honestly acknowledge what their eyes and ears are telling them. Nevertheless, there remains a diehard bunch of “believers” who will probably never relinquish their faith in their savior.

Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against the guy. I couldn’t care less that he’s half black or a Democrat or a Muslim or whatever. What I care about is the Constitution and that we abide by it. I’m also bothered by the irrational faith of his supporters in his ability or willingness to “change” anything. There’s little a single person can do even if he’s of a mind to do something. Our political system is run by money and that hasn’t changed with the election of the latest messiah. His principal donors are the very same wealthy entities that have been funding politicians’ campaigns for a long time. How can any rational person really expect “change”? Yet they do.

The messiah has made vague promises to create three million jobs and provide health care to all, but he hasn’t offered any specifics about how he’s going to accomplish this, or how he’s going to pay for it. First he promised two million jobs, then two and a half million, now three million. Do I hear three and a half million? Where’s he going to “create” these jobs? In the automobile industry? The home building industry? The financial sector? Retail? And how is he going to “create” these jobs? By pulling them out of his pocket?

The U.S. is already beyond broke. And what’s worse, we’ve shipped our wealth-creating apparatus, industry, abroad. That has, in fact, been our chief “export” during the last two or three decades, and the recipients of our erstwhile economic golden goose have eagerly accepted our foolishly squandered largesse. Now we find ourselves worse than broke and with no means to pay back what we owe right now, let alone pay for all these mythical promises of jobs and health care. But never try to shove facts in between a true believer and their idol.

November 27, 2008 – One day short of a year since I snapped my first chemtrail photos, the monstrous fiends are at it again, with a vengeance. (Not that they’ve relented during the year that has elapsed. If anything, they’ve become more active.)

By Dave Eriqat

Happy Thanksgiving, America

Stuff yourselves silly, but don’t dare look up at the sky. That’s not the mark of the hero, Zorro, you see wafting overhead. That’s the mark of the beast, of anti-heros, “brave” pilots with a hole in their psyches where in a normal person a conscience would be found. The same kind of personalities that drop bombs on wedding parties. Only such a person could happily motor across the sky spewing toxic substances on their countrymen.

No, that’s not the mark of Zorro

I’m really angry about, and sick to death of all this deliberate poisoning of our atmosphere. I can think of no benign explanation for this spraying activity. It’s too sporadic, irregular and concentrated over population areas to be for the purpose of benevolent weather modification, not to mention that the whole global warming farce, the putative justification for benevolent weather modification, is coming unraveled.

Oh, what a beautiful, toxic sunrise

On what should have been a beautiful, crystal clear autumn day, we get this. Every single trace of “clouds” you see above is from chemtrails. Were it not for the chemtrails, the sky would be absolutely clear and deep blue. Now for the rest of today we’re going to enjoy milky skies as this crap – whatever it is – settles down on top of us. I truly don’t want to go outside after seeing this stuff. Perhaps that’s part of the objective – a high tech kind of curfew: go outside and die.

Blessings of Peak Oil and Economic Collapse

I’ve got to say, I am truly hoping that peak oil and economic collapse combine to destroy the ability of these monsters to spray this stuff on top of us.

Breathe deeply, smell that wonderful, fresh country air

Maybe when fuel becomes too precious to waste in this manner, and the government becomes too cash-strapped to pay its goons, this crap will cease and we will once again have fresh air to breathe, the natural right of every living creature born on this planet.

Government Versus The Nation

Perhaps some of these radicals who urge us to start taking down the names of all these perps for future reference – in politics, finance, big business, government, military – are the true patriots. Goodness knows, the perpetrators aren’t patriots. Patriots care about their country, its environment, its people. These other people, the perpetrators, are destroying everything that matters to a country, and for what? To protect and enlarge the one thing that is least essential to a country, government. Government is not a vital component of a country (that’s why the U.S. Constitution defined a very limited, minimal government); in theory government exists only to serve the country. But the way our “leaders” and their henchmen behave, government is the only thing that matters. Everything else – the people, the land, the air, the water, the small businesses, even the nation’s currency – exists to be exploited or exterminated by the government at its whim.

Have you ever hear the phrase, “Continuity of Government”? That’s a set of programs to ensure that government can persist in the aftermath of some catastrophe. There is no similar program for the people, named “Continuity of Humanity”; nor is there one named “Continuity of Environment”; nor “Continuity of Commerce.” Apparently, the only thing government thinks is worth saving is its own skin.

It is in this context that the spraying of poisonous substances over the people, the land and the water seems not only justifiable, but logical, even desirable, to government people, that is.

Anyone who has studied American history has probably noted that paralleling the growth of government has been a steady decline in the nation’s economic vibrancy. That’s not a coincidence. It should be obvious that as government sucks up resources – now 50% of GDP – fewer resources are available for productive use. Eventually, as real wealth production peaks, as it did in the U.S. some time ago, the ever swelling government finds itself in direct competition with the ever swelling populace. That’s where we are today. That’s why there is such contention between government and the populace. That’s why the government is increasingly tyrannical – it must be ever more ruthless to extract its pound of flesh from us because there’s less to go around (despite all the fat people today). That’s why the prison-industrial gulag is burgeoning. That’s why our air, water and food are being poisoned – there are too many of us, and the government knows it. It’s just trying to eliminate some competition for the ever dwindling resources.

The government is literally at war with us, but few of us even recognize it. And the government’s fascist accomplices – the global elite and their corporations – are waging a class war against us, and again, few even recognize it. All people know is that they feel besieged, and rightly so. They just don’t why or know who to blame. Well, for starters, dare to look up at the sky. (I changed my mind.)

Update – 25 December 2008

Just like on Thanksgiving Day, when this post was originally written, the demons are at it again.

Christmas Day chemtrail sunrise. Notice all the luminous streaks above and behind the trees. Those are chemtrails. And there are additional chemtrails in every direction.

Besides today being Christmas Day, this is also the first clear day after a week of awful weather. Don’t these people rest? Is it now the law that we aren’t allowed to have a single nice, natural day anymore? We had another crystal clear day about a week and a half ago, and I’ve never seen chemtrail spraying more heavy than on that day. By afternoon, the entire sky, on what should have been a crystal clear day, was covered in chemtrail overcast. This needs to cease!

One hour after sunrise. I predict that by midday, the sky will be covered in a milky chemtrail overcast.

At one time I was willing to accept that this spraying might be to combat “global warming,” even in which case the “cure” of chemtrails may not be better than the “disease.” But given that the arguments in favor of global warming are flawed to begin with and disintegrating, and given that global warming has been seized upon by governments around the world as a means to control and tax their citizens, I now believe global warming is a massive hoax. Therefore, chemtrail spraying cannot be to combat global warming, a non-problem.

That leaves two possibilities: some sort of military program, such as HAARP, or a deliberate program to kill us! Some people have claimed that long-term exposure to barium and aluminum, principal components of chemtrails, weakens the immune system. Why might that matter? It would matter if someone were planning to introduce something like, say, weaponized “avian flu” virus into the population. Such a population, its immune system weakened by years of chemtrail exposure, might readily succumb to such a virus, whereas a healthy population would shrug it off.

People had better start waking up and realize that our “leaders” DO NOT have our best interests at heart. And as competition for the earth’s dwindling natural resources – peak oil, anyone? – intensifies, our benevolent “leaders” are going to become ever more brazen in their efforts to exterminate the competition for those resources, that is, us.

I have nothing against the “troops.” But people who claim to “support the troops” might want to think about who it is who’s flying these airplanes that are poisoning our skies. I’ll give you a hint: it’s not foreigners, and it’s not civilians. Would you continue to “support” someone if you knew they were trying to kill you?

Oh, yeah, those are normal flight paths

There are chemtrails in every direction – north, south, east, west. Except for a week and a half ago, I’ve never seen such widespread activity. It’s as if the demons have pulled out all the stops in order to accelerate their poisoning program. On a day like today I wouldn’t dare go outside. Unfortunately, I have an invitation for dinner that necessitates my going out. That’s what irritates me more than anything – that I have no choice but to be exposed to this crap. Am I angry? Words cannot articulate just how much. Imagine a volcano about to blow…and you’d be close.

Update – 01 January 2009

The U.S. holiday season wouldn’t be complete without New Years Day chemtrails. The fiends were very busy again today.

Chemtrails to the south

It’s baffling why they are so active on holidays. Supposedly chemtrails are to combat “global warming.” Does global warming only occur on holidays? Or do the monsters prefer holidays because they assume people will be too preoccupied with their holiday activities to notice the unnatural sky?

Chemtrails to the west. Airplanes flying in grid patterns again.

Today was gorgeous – clear, warm, sunny. I wanted to go out for a walk. Then I looked up at the sky and decided not to expose myself to the crap saturating the air. These photos don’t show the subsequent overcast-like conditions following the bestial chemtrail spraying. What began as a clear sky ended up a sickly, milky shroud.

Closeup of one of the demons spewing out its poison

I’ve got an idea, let’s send these pilots over to Israel, where they can get their jollies blowing up defenseless women and children. That would probably be a lot more exciting to these pilots than merely causing the slow death of their fellow countrymen.

The comparison is not unfair, nor uncorrelated. I believe the greatly increased chemtrail activity this year and the Israeli attack on Gaza are both part of the same agenda, which is a make-or-break push by the powers-that-be to achieve their long-sought dream of global enslavement. The incipient economic collapse is another part of this objective, the aim of which is to so dispirit the populace worldwide that it will embrace global governance, that is, global enslavement. Mr. Obama is also part of the plan, his role being that of a smooth-talking, soothing figurehead to oversee the endgame. Anyone who still believes Mr. Obama is the agent of “change,” is sadly naive. Mr. Obama will do exactly what his superiors (the PTB) instruct him to do.

Update – 02 January 2009

Unbelievable as it may seem, the bastards are at it again today! They’re using the cloud cover to conceal their activity.

Chemtrails above the clouds

I saw the same thing a few days ago when it was cloudy. Every once in a while the clouds would break and I could see chemtrails above them. Now, one would think that if it’s cloudy there would be no need for chemtrails to mitigate “global warming,” since clouds form a natural reflective shield. So why are they spraying chemtrails on cloudy days as well? If, in fact, the purpose of chemtrails is to poison the population and weaken their immune systems, and not to mitigate the farcical “global warming,” then cloudy days would be ideal for spraying chemtrails, as the spraying activity would be largely concealed.

Just as the economic collapse is intended to weaken peoples’ finances, chemtrail spraying is intended to weaken peoples’ immune systems. Both will leave the populace dispirited and eager to embrace any false promise of salvation, even if it comes in the form of global governance, that is, global enslavement.

I’ve never seen such intense spraying activity as I have in the last few months. Even on nice, clear days, instead of enjoying the day I anxiously scan the sky and wonder how long it will be before the chemtrail sprayers come along and ruin it, forcing me to scurry indoors for safety. What a sorry way to live life.

Update – 23 January 2009

In case my language above seems unduly harsh, here’s an excellent article, titled Ten Years Into The Chemtrail-Wars, that encapsulates my feelings like a glove. Also, in the interest of doing something constructive instead of merely ranting in frustration, I’ve begun keeping a log of my chemtrail observations around here. I urge everyone to do the same. I’m hoping to be able to identify a pattern in the data I collect. At the very least, such a pattern will enable me to anticipate when it’s unsafe to go outside. Evidence of a pattern may also be useful in dismissing the notion that chemtrails are benign, random phenomena. Here’s my chart since the beginning of the year.

Chemtrail activity over Hickman, Kentucky

See Also

• What Are Chemtrails?

• What Are Chemtrails? – Part II

• Chemtrail Activity Over Hickman, Kentucky

November 26, 2008 – A tortoise and hare-type fable.

By Dave Eriqat

Once upon a time there lived a man named Sam. Sam had worked hard his whole life and was getting a little long in the tooth. Thanks to his hard work, during the course of his life Sam built up quite a fortune and lived a life that many people could only dream of. But, alas, hubris got the better of him and he squandered his fortune on showy, noisy toys, unsound investments and unsavory companions.

Now weary, in the twilight of his years and toiling away in an old factory, Sam had an epiphany: Why should he continue working so hard when his coworkers at the factory were willing to work harder? So Sam asked one of his coworkers, Ming, to take some of his hours. Ming, dreaming of the good life Sam once enjoyed, eagerly accepted the extra work, and Sam was delighted to work less. The only problem was that Sam’s reduced income meant that he had to pinch pennies, which embarrassed him and made him feel poor, not to mention that Sam could no longer partake of the trappings of the good life.

So the next day at work Sam went to Ming and asked him for a loan. Ming, now richer thanks to the extra hours he was working and seeing an opportunity to earn some interest, agreed and lent Sam the money. Sam went home early that day with a huge grin on his face, thinking, “This is great! I am working less but I have just as much money as before.” The next week Sam went to Ming and offered him a few more of his hours, provided Ming would lend Sam some of his extra earnings on a regular basis. Ming thought Sam was a fool to borrow money when he could simply earn it, but the lure of that interest was irresistible, so Ming agreed to Sam’s proposal.

After a few more weeks Sam couldn’t believe how well this new arrangement was working out. Ming was working his little tush off and giving Sam money, while Sam got to sit at home and watch ball games on TV. Sure, the debt Sam owed Ming kept growing but Ming didn’t seem to mind. He certainly wasn’t asking for his money back. So Sam put it out of his mind and patted himself on the back for his cleverness in thinking up the scheme. Sam was no economist, but he thought if his scheme were applied to the macro economy it might be nicknamed the “service economy.”

A few weeks later Sam went back to Ming and said, “Ming, buddy, this arrangement is working out so well, don’t you think? How would you like a few more of my hours?” Ming hesitated because he was getting a little concerned about how Sam was going to pay back all the money he had already borrowed. But then again, Sam had never defaulted on a debt and he was still working a few hours at the factory, so he was earning some money. Ming thought, “Something will work out and Sam will be able to repay me.” Besides, Ming and his family had moved into a nicer house, purchased their first car, had better food to eat and Ming was able to afford an education for his kids, all thanks to Sam’s hours. Ming didn’t want to upset this handsome apple cart of his and certainly could use the extra money, so he agreed to take more of Sam’s hours.

While Ming toiled away, Sam turned into a accomplished couch potato. He spent most of his time prone in a recliner, his half open eyes glued to some ball game on the TV, a beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other, a box of cold pizza splayed open on the coffee table. Every few days Sam would drag his bloated belly and corpulent behind to the factory to work a couple of hours, never neglecting to see Ming – who could always be found at the factory these days – and collect his regular loan before heading home.

Both Sam and Ming were having grave doubts about Sam’s ability to repay his debts to Ming, but both were stuck in a seemingly inescapable relationship. Sam needed Ming’s loans to pay his bills, and Ming needed to keep lending Sam money lest he declare bankruptcy. Sam briefly entertained asking Ming for some of his hours back, but he didn’t really want to work harder and he knew Ming’s new higher standard of living depended on those hours, so Ming would probably not give them up anyway. So both suppressed their concerns and kept the relationship going.

Then one day – one of the few that Sam was actually at the factory – the factory manager assembled all the workers to hear an announcement. A recession was brewing and factory orders were declining, so everyone was to have their hours reduced. Sam, since he was barely working anyway, was to be laid off. It immediately dawned on both Sam and Ming that Ming’s shoebox full of IOU slips from Sam could not now be paid back. Ming had been counting on that money to pay for his retirement and now it was likely lost. Worse, Ming’s reduced hours meant that he could no longer afford the nicer lifestyle he was providing for his family. They were going to have to scale back, but at least they’d muddle through. Sam was the worst off. Not only did Sam lose his meager income from the factory, but Ming no longer had the means or willingness to continue subsidizing Sam. Sam suddenly had no income whatsoever and conceded that it was only a matter of time before he was homeless and living on the street.

The End

November 24, 2008 – What a world it would be, could be …

By Dave Eriqat

Something different for me. Maybe it’s corny, but so what.

I spend a lot of time thinking and writing about current events, dabbling in philosophy, complaining about injustice and human failings. Over time, one grows weary and cynical. Then you run across something new (never mind that this video is over thirty years old, it’s new to me). It’s from the Born Free Foundation and it depicts a formerly pet lion, now living in the wild, reuniting with its former keepers. Never having heard this story before or seen this video, I found it so moving that I watched it five times. Someone once asked me if I prefer the law of the jungle. Well, if this is the law of the jungle then I’m all for it!

With so many awful things happening right now, and sadly, much worse to come, it’s easy to forget that we live on a paradise of a planet. Between the natural beauty that surrounds us and the potential opportunities available to us not only with other human beings, but with animals as well, we need to remember every once in a while to take advantage of what this garden of eden offers us.

Take a moment to forget about all the problems oppressing our psyches and cherish the good things. Go for a walk with the sun on your face and breathe some fresh air. Lie on the grass under a shady tree. Kiss or hug someone, just to show them you love them. Notice the wildlife around you: the colorful birds taunting one another or pulling worms out of the grass; the squirrels scampering up the trees; the neighbor’s dog rolling onto its back, as if to scratch an itch. Remember that we are one with the planet, its plants and animals; we should not be at odds with them. Nor should we be at odds with each other.

I don’t know how we get from here to there, but it’s worth making the effort.

November 19, 2008 – Here in the U.S. we like to make fun of other countries by calling them “banana republics,” but maybe we should have a good long look in the mirror. All we’re missing is the bananas.

By Dave Eriqat

Wikipedia describes a “Banana Republic” as:

Frequently the subject of mockery and humour, and usually presided over by a dictatorial military junta that exaggerates its own power and importance—"the epaulettes of a banana republic generalissimo" are proverbially of considerable size, usually portrayed in satire with a pair of mops—a banana republic also typically has large wealth inequities, poor infrastructure, poor schools, a "backward" economy, low capital spending, a reliance on foreign capital and money printing, budget deficits, and a weakening currency. Banana republics are typically also highly prone to revolutions and coups.

…

In modern usage the term has come to be used to describe a generally unstable or "backward" dictatorial regime, especially one where elections are often fraudulent and corruption is rife. By extension, the word is occasionally applied to governments where a strong leader hands out appointments and advantages to friends and supporters, without much consideration for the law. A banana republic can also be used to describe a country where a large part of its economy and politics are controlled by foreign powers or even corporations, e.g. the United States.

Presided over by a dictatorial military junta that exaggerates its own power and importance – military influence pervades American life. Have you ever heard the phrase, “Support our troops”? Notice how candidates for president dwell on their ability to be a good “commander in chief,” as if running the military was the most important function of government? Notice how the CIA director is always seen wearing his military uniform, festooned with all his medals and ribbons, the modern equivalent of epaulets?

Large wealth inequities – need I say more? The wealth inequities in the U.S. have been growing ever wider for three decades, resulting in an absurd gulf today.

Poor infrastructure – according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, America’s infrastructure received an overall grade of ‘D’ in 2005, the last year such a report card was issued. Its report card summary said:

Congested highways, overflowing sewers and corroding bridges are constant reminders of the looming crisis that jeopardizes our nation’s prosperity and our quality of life. With new grades for the first time since 2001, our nation’s infrastructure has shown little to no improvement since receiving a collective D+ in 2001, with some areas sliding toward failing grades.

The ASCE estimates the cost to repair all of our nation’s infrastructure at $1.6 trillion, a substantial sum. Yet, it’s less than what the government has lavished on the financial system in just the last few months! And it’s less than it will ultimately spend on the pointless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – by its own admission the government has already spent on those wars more than half the amount required to rebuild America’s infrastructure. And whereas spending money on banks and wars is a total loss, spending it on domestic infrastructure improvements would have provided meaningful jobs and long term benefits to our quality of life.

Poor schools – need I even comment on this one? U.S. students chronically rank 20^th or worse in global math, science and geography comparisons against foreign students. High school dropout rates in some U.S. cities exceed 50%. Illiteracy rates in some cities are as high as that of “third world” countries. I believe China and India combined educate more scientists and engineers today than the U.S. I wonder where tomorrow’s innovations will come from? Collectively, it’s as if we have thrown up our hands in despair and embraced ignorance and anti-intellectualism.

A "backward" economy – the U.S. economy is certainly backward in the sense that it’s a reverse-Robin Hood economy: it transfers wealth from the poor to the rich. The U.S. “invests” money in unproductive ventures, while closing down its productive factories, seemingly going out of its way to cripple its economic future. Instead of promoting saving, it promotes spending. Instead of production, consumption. Instead of exports, imports. In every sense, ours is a “backward” economy.

Low capital spending – part and parcel with closing down factories is low capital spending. Capital spending in the U.S. – at least on productive assets – has been declining for decades. Probably the greatest recent capital expenditure fiesta occurred during the dot-com bubble, when companies were buying computer, networking and communication equipment like hotcakes. Of course, we all know how well that phony bubble worked out.

A reliance on foreign capital and money printing – for people who have been paying attention to the U.S. budget issues, this is a no-brainer. The U.S. borrows around $2 billion a day just to stay afloat, most of it from foreign countries. Thanks to all the misguided financial bailout activity today, the annual budget deficit threatens to exceed $1 trillion dollars soon, which will have to be financed largely by foreign countries, if they are willing. And where is the $2 trillion – or whatever amount it is – that the government has already dumped down the financial sewer going to come from? The government denies that it’s “printing money,” but I have my doubts. And if the foreign countries don’t come through with more loans, the government will have no alternative but to “print money.” All that largesse has to come from somewhere.

Budget deficits – can anyone recall when the U.S. didn’t have a budget deficit? As this chart shows, the U.S. budget has hardly ever seen anything but a deficit. The last “surplus” occurred during President Clinton’s term, but I suspect that was little more than a “smoke and mirrors” surplus. After all, during Clinton’s term the national debt still increased by $1.4 trillion (source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2007/pdf/hist.pdf).

U.S. Budget Deficit, 1901–2006 (source: Wikipedia)

A weakening currency – the U.S. dollar has been weakening for years, actually decades. It has been estimated by many people that the U.S. dollar has lost 95% of its value since the formation of the Federal Reserve System in 1913. And despite the recent deleveraging-induced boost in the value of the U.S. dollar, which will probably be temporary, it is still down about 30% in value compared to the Euro since around the year 2000. Long term, what with all this bailout activity, the U.S. dollar will surely lose considerably more value.

Prone to revolutions and coups – well, we haven’t had a revolution in this country for a couple of centuries, but many would say we just had a coup, perpetrated by Wall Street banksters. In fact, some would say we also had a coup in the year 2000, when the Supreme Court selected our president. Thank goodness our president-elect is “prepared to really take power and begin to rule day one.” Presidents govern; dictators rule. Let’s hope our new one at least wears a velvet glove over his iron fist.

One where elections are often fraudulent and corruption is rife – since about the year 2000, elections in the U.S. have been notoriously corrupt. Seizing upon the snafu involving “hanging chads,” our rulers introduced electronic voting machines that are easily tampered with and leave no permanent record of one’s vote! Banana republic dictators the world over must be kicking themselves for not thinking of that one.

A strong leader hands out appointments and advantages to friends and supporters, without much consideration for the law – gee, huge “no-bid” contracts to politically-connected contractors and mercenaries leaps to mind.

A country where a large part of its economy and politics are controlled by foreign powers or even corporations – that the U.S. is controlled by corporations is obvious to even the most servile participants in its economy. What many people have yet to realize is that increasingly, more and more pieces of our economy and political system are being controlled by foreign powers. Infrastructure, sometimes taxpayer-financed infrastructure, is being sold to foreign companies, which operate them for profit – theirs, not ours. In addition, it’s been suggested that some of the recent financial bailout activity was initiated at the behest of – or in response to threats from – foreign powers. In addition, some of the bailout money – our tax money – is going to foreign firms!

My Two Cents

I might add that our politicians show utter disdain for their own laws, including the highest law of the land, the Constitution. When the laws prove inconvenient, the politicians simply ignore them or capriciously change them, such as when the Treasury Department published a select list of financial firms whose stocks were protected from naked short selling. (Never mind that naked short selling is supposed to be illegal anyway. The publication of the list merely confirmed that such illegal activity was tacitly condoned while protecting a select group of insider firms.) Should someone get “caught” flagrantly breaking the law, they are not punished. Their crime is “spun” by the corporate media and quickly forgotten. However, should someone, such as Mark Cuban, challenge the status quo, then “crimes” are hastily invented and the media machine is cranked up to swiftly induce guilt.

And don’t forget about the show trials, I mean, military tribunals in Guantanamo; and the prison-industrial gulag here in the U.S.; and the increasingly suffocating police state, complete with paid informants; and the ossified politburo we call “Congress.” But I think I’m getting my political metaphors mixed up, as these are more Stalinesque than banana republic.

Conclusion

This post was meant to poke lighthearted fun at the U.S., but after writing it I’m not so sure it’s funny anymore. While the above evidence may appear to the untrained eye as proof positive that the U.S. is, indeed, a banana republic, it is not, for the simple reason that it has no bananas.

Update – 2 March 2009

Whew! Paul Craig Roberts, former assistant Treasury secretary under Reagan, and a genuine patriot thinks we won’t be a banana republic until 2012, when he asks, “A Banana Republic By 2012?” Of course, he gives himself an out by concluding with the caveat,

The US might not even make it to 2012 before it is a banana republic.

I heartily agree!

Update – 28 March 2009

The recognition that the U.S. is a banana republic is becoming palpable, especially among foreigners. This blog post cites two IMF officials, of all people, who unequivocally declare that the U.S. is, indeed, a banana republic. I find this quotation particularly appropriate, and an echo of what I have been asserting for years:

But there’s a deeper and more disturbing similarity: elite business interests—financiers, in the case of the U.S.—played a central role in creating the crisis, making ever-larger gambles, with the implicit backing of the government, until the inevitable collapse. More alarming, they are now using their influence to prevent precisely the sorts of reforms that are needed, and fast, to pull the economy out of its nosedive. The government seems helpless, or unwilling, to act against them.

That succinctly sums up the present situation here in the U.S.

November 17, 2008 – Is the U.S. under attack, in the form of economic warfare?

By Dave Eriqat

I had sort of an epiphany this morning regarding the incessantly growing U.S. debt situation. For a long, long time I’ve wondered how the U.S. debt can simply keep growing. In particular, why do the creditors to the U.S. keep lending to the U.S.? This is a question I’ve asked myself for years, especially following my recognition some years ago that paying back all the debt accrued up to that point was impossible.

One could cavalierly assert that our creditors are “stupid,” but I doubt that’s the case. Even if the leaders of various countries aren’t too bright, they certainly have subordinates who are sharp enough to recognize the same problem that I have.

One could attribute the continuation of lending to an insolvent debtor to momentum and the difficulty of changing course. There’s a certain validity to this view, but one who recognizes a problem and doesn’t change course is a fool, and I don’t believe our creditors are fools.

One could assert that the world economy revolves around U.S. dollars, so the world has no choice but to prop up the value of dollars. This is true, yet one would expect to witness at least baby steps toward an alternative, and I think we are witnessing that today. Still, this view doesn’t afford me a satisfactory explanation for why countries such as China keep lending us hundreds of billions of dollars every year.

In China’s case I had another epiphany recently: that China was propping up the U.S. in order to acquire its manufacturing base, which, over the long run, is worth a whole lot more than the trillion or so dollars China has lent the U.S. By lending to the U.S., China maintains the flow of exports to the U.S. That, in turn, gives U.S. manufacturers an incentive to relocate to China to reduce labor costs. China slowly builds a new manufacturing infrastructure, while the U.S. goes deeper into debt. China must recognize that in relinquishing its manufacturing base, the U.S. is even less able to repay its debts, because manufacturing is a fundamental source of wealth generation. So my guess is that China has a broader, longer range objective than merely getting its loans repaid. In the meantime, maintaining the flow of exports aids China’s domestic political climate, as it keeps hundreds of millions of workers gainfully employed instead of rioting. If in the future economic warfare deteriorates into hot warfare, China’s possession of a powerful manufacturing base, at the expense of the U.S.’s loss of such, would give it an advantage. It was the U.S.’s powerful manufacturing base that gave it a distinct advantage during World War II.

Yet even this epiphany doesn’t explain why other countries, notably Japan, Russia and the Middle East oil countries continue to lend to the U.S., since they are not acquiring its manufacturing base. As usual, I think the full explanation is multifaceted. That is, there isn’t a single explanation that applies to all parties involved.

One explanation that does encompass more parties is that they are engaged in economic warfare against the U.S. I’m not paranoid in the sense that I think all the countries of the world are out to “get” the U.S., although they certainly have cause! However, some countries have more such motivation than others, namely Russia, China and some of the Middle East countries. Frankly, I’m surprised and disappointed that some Middle East countries have not taken a stronger stand against the genocide that Israel is perpetrating against the Palestinians. But perhaps they are, through the back door. (Disclaimer: my family is Palestinian, so my views on this matter are obviously biased.) I read a fascinating article this morning which catalyzed my epiphany about economic warfare. The article, titled Sharia Finance: Last Gasp of a Doomed American Economy, described how the U.S. is so desperate for money today that it’s being forced to accept whatever conditions its creditors, such as the Middle East nations, wish to impose. Among other things, borrowers are required to make donations to Islamic organizations. Now, I’m not religious, so I couldn’t care less about the distinction between Islam and Christianity. What intrigues me about this article is that the people who have money are now in a position to dictate the behavior of those who need money, and are doing so.

My observation about the subservient relationship of debtors to creditors may explain why our creditors continue lending to us: they want us deep in debt so they can call the shots. In other words, instead of invading and occupying the U.S. the old fashioned way, they are taking control of the U.S. economically. Therefore, the deeper in debt the U.S. becomes, the better. And once the U.S. is hopelessly in debt to foreign entities, if it refuses to submit to their will, then the foreign entities can take the drastic step of “pulling the plug” and effectively destroy the U.S. economy, again, without firing a shot.

Viewed in that light, the continual lending by China, Russia and the Middle East countries makes perfect sense. But what about Japan? Well, Japan is a polite nation, but an ambitious one. I would expect that Japan would seek to increase its influence over world affairs quietly, such as by lending the IMF money. Since the IMF plays such a vital and growing role in world finance, being a lender to the IMF, as Japan seeks to be, confers considerable influence upon that lender. Eventually, even the U.S. may have to submit to IMF dictates, which would then give Japan indirect influence over the U.S.

Many people will scoff at the idea the other countries are waging economic war against the U.S. right now. It sounds outrageous, but why? I’ve long wondered why the rest of the world tolerates the U.S.’s belligerence and hegemonic goals. Well, maybe the rest of the world has had its fill and is doing something about it, in the least painful, least destructive, least risky and most fruitful manner, by reducing the U.S. to a dependent debt junkie.

Were the U.S. Government to recognize that it’s under “attack,” it might retaliate in kind, say, by taking down the price of oil. After all, a lower oil price benefits the U.S. and hurts both Russia and the Middle East oil countries, two of its potential adversaries in this putative economic war. Taking down the oil price incidentally harms Venezuela – icing on the cake from the U.S. Government’s perspective.

November 16, 2008 – Is a government of secrets what the founders of this nation had in mind?

By Dave Eriqat

Who knew that when one of our more colorful presidents introduced the phrase “Don’t ask, don’t tell” into our lexicon he was erecting a future guidepost for government. As gays pushed their way out of the closet over the last three decades, the government, aided and abetted by that new mantra, elbowed its way into the closet, seeking to shield itself from the scrutiny of the very people it serves. Or is it the other way around today?

Bailout Nation

Most recently, the Federal Reserve (a chameleon-like organization that can assume the appearance of a government department or a private firm, depending on which is more convenient at any given time) and the Treasury Department are doing their bang up best to take the secrecy prize this year.

First this tag team, using the threats of stock market crashes and martial law in the streets, cajoled Congress into passing the infamous “bailout bill” (actually the second, 451-page, “economic patriot act” bailout bill), which turned out to be a theatrical diversion anyway because the two financial organizations had been bailing out companies to a far greater extent on the side, secretly, and without the aid of any bailout bill.

Then they performed the old bait-and-switch maneuver in deciding to spend the bailout money in a totally different manner than proffered to Congress. Oddly enough, the stock market didn’t crash due to a lack of these bailout funds.

And then, despite a perfunctory promise of “transparency” in order to secure passage of the bailout bill, the Fed and the Treasury have been remarkably reticent, to say the least, about how they are spending trillions of taxpayer dollars. Private citizens and Congress itself have implored the duo to reveal how they are spending our money, but to no avail. The secrecy is so brazen and the suspicion of malfeasance is so strong that an insider company, Bloomberg, was moved to file suit in Federal Court to force the Federal Reserve to disclose how the money is being spent. You know there’s a problem when one insider organization has to sue another to ferret out the truth!

Plunge Protection Team Goes To A Swim Meet

The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PPT), in which the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department are key participants, was established by President Reagan following the 1987 stock market crash to ensure that such a crash would never occur again. While preventing stock market crashes may have been a noble goal, as has been noted thousands of times in the historical record, once people are given power they cannot help but abuse it.

Consequently, the PPT today engages in the daily manipulation of all markets, globally: stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, precious metals, and even real estate. As Chris Powell, of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA), succinctly asks, what do we have today, Markets, or just interventions? And these manipulations (interventions) are not solely intended to prevent chaos, if at all, but to generate profits for politically-connected insiders.

Curiously, the Fed and Treasury apparently forget all about their own PPT when raising the specter of a stock market crash should Congress fail to pass the bailout bill. Hmm … that performance reminds me of one by a president who incessantly harped about some still undiscovered WMDs.

Of course, this is all speculation on my part – albeit, amply backed up by circumstantial evidence – because the government won’t tell us what the PPT is doing, when it’s doing it or why. If this is a legitimate function of government, then why can’t its workings be publicly divulged? Why should only a few insiders benefit from foreknowledge of which direction the PPT is planning to move the markets? This is a government of the people, by the people and for the people, darn it!

Is it any wonder with all this secrecy in the financial markets that people no longer have any confidence in them? A lack of confidence is a serious problem in an economy and financial system that have devolved into a confidence game, like those of the U.S.

Show Me The Gold!

One thing that might help restore confidence in the financial markets would be a fair and independent audit of the gold reserves the U.S. supposedly has in storage. According to the GATA, the U.S. gold reserves have not been audited since 1955 (come on, surely we can afford to audit these reserves more frequently than twice a century), and there’s every reason to believe that the approximately 8,000 tons of gold the government claims to hold is simply no longer there, which would certainly explain why it has successfully resisted demands for such audits. It’s been speculated that this gold has been sold and leased (indirectly sold) in order to help balance the government’s budget and suppress gold prices (and boost the value of the U.S. dollar, the sole “product” of the Federal Reserve). The government could easily quell all this consternation and enhance confidence in the U.S. dollar and the U.S. financial system by simply submitting to such an audit. Is the quantity of gold in the reserves a matter of national security? Certainly, the absence of said gold would be a matter of national security!

Kenya Becomes A State

These lessons in secrecy are not lost on our new president-elect, who has chosen to ignore the little matter of his eligibility to actually be the President of the United States, before even becoming the President of the United States! Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution reads,

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

I assume that natural born means born within the territorial boundaries of the United States. It’s my belief that our president-elect was born in Kenya, which, according to my limited geographical knowledge is not, nor ever has been within the territorial boundaries of the United States. I have no proof that the president-elect was born in Kenya, but there is circumstantial evidence to that effect, not the least of which is the president-elect’s own failure to offer any evidence to the contrary. In fact, all records pertaining to the president-elect in both Hawaii and Kenya have been sealed. What records in Kenya could possibly have any relevance to the president-elect of the United States? I can think of only one such record: proof that the president-elect was born there and not here.

Yes, the president-elect did graciously offer us a digitized copy of a Certification of Live Birth, which is not the same thing as an original birth certificate. For starters, this Certification of Live Birth, official though it may be, is obviously printed on a laser printer, which technology did not exist in 1961. So there must be an original birth certificate somewhere. Why not present that original birth certificate and allow a document expert to attest to its authenticity? Is that too much to ask of a man who purports to represent 300 million people?

I really couldn’t care less who is the president (unless it’s Ron Paul); I simply don’t understand why the president-elect needs to keep his birth certificate a secret. The trend of the last four presidents has been toward increasing secrecy, but it does not bode well that the incoming president is embracing a policy of secrecy before even being sworn into office!

Chemtrails: Breathe Deeply

What are chemtrails? Countless people, including myself, have asked that question but have been answered with nothing but deafening silence from the powers-that-be. I see these chemtrails all the time, even out here in the remoteness of rural Kentucky, seemingly with no rhyme or reason, although they often appear just before it’s forecast to rain, as if the rain is expected to wash the chemicals down to ground level.

It has been claimed that these chemtrails are to combat global warming, but then I would expect to see them laid down with some regularity and over vast areas. Instead these chemtrails seem to appear in a wide range of sizes and patterns and at sporadic intervals, as if whenever the government has the funds, manpower or equipment available, or perhaps just when the pharmaceutical companies need some new customers complaining of respiratory ailments. I’m of the opinion that these chemtrails are of a nefarious nature, but unfortunately all we can do is speculate about what they are and why they are being disbursed upon us.

Would it be so difficult, so alarming to the public for the government to give us a simple explanation? This is a government that has adroitly exploited a fearful public. I would think telling that same public that they were facing global warming-induced incineration within forty-five years would scare the living daylights out of them. Imagine the opportunities availed by harnessing that fear!

Tasty Fluoride, Radioactive Veggies

While it’s busy explaining to us what chemtrails are, maybe the government can tell us, too, why a toxic chemical, fluoride, is increasingly being added to our public water supplies. I’m no conspiracy theorist (oh, wait, I am!), but it seems that if one wanted to degrade the health of a population, filling the air and water with poisons would be a good start. The next logical course of action would be to poison food as well, by contaminating it with, oh, I don’t know, maybe Chinese melamine, for starters. Or maybe just destroy the nutritional value of food by, say, irradiating it.

But again, all I can do is speculate. The government has yet to offer a credible justification for adding fluoride to our water. In fact, more studies show that the substance is harmful than show that it’s beneficial, so it seems sensible to err on the side of caution by not adding the stuff to our water. If people want to ingest fluoride, surely some enterprising pharmaceutical company can produce a fluoride supplement pill for them. After all, mercury injections are available for the asking. (You still gotta pay for them, however.)

FEMA Reeducation Camps

What is the purpose of all these FEMA concentration camps that Halliburton was hired to build, supposedly to cope with “an emergency influx of immigrants, or to support the rapid development of new programs”? I seriously doubt that they are intended to house a surge of illegal immigrants in luxurious splendor because we’re already facing a surge of illegal immigrants, thanks in part to the economy-destroying NAFTA, yet the concentration camps remain devoid of illegal immigrants. I’m more interested in those ominous “new programs.” Could someone in the government please tell us what “new programs” are being rapidly developed? Perhaps reeducation camps for “dissidents,” big-mouthed bloggers and 9/11 skeptics?

9/11 And The Invisible Plane

Speaking of 9/11, which represents the mother lode of government secrets, is it asking too much to see a single video of an airplane crashing into the Pentagon? Were there no video cameras in the vicinity of the Pentagon? Would airing such a video of the exterior of the Pentagon undermine national security so much that the government cannot take the risk? Just one video is all I ask. At this point I’d even settle for a good quality, computer-generated video.

FOIA, Our Savior

When the people and its congressional representatives do have the temerity to ask questions of our government, it often simply refuses to answer. Even the landmark Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) has failed to sufficiently loosen the lips of our government. According to the Freedom Of Information Act Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2007 (PDF), of the 4,792 requests for information processed, a generous 437 (less than 10%) were fully satisfied; 929 were partially satisfied; and 3,426 (over 70%) were rejected. In addition, the department began the year 2007 with a backlog of 3,799 pending requests and ended the year with 4,085 pending requests; the backlog increased. The department complains, “The Department has begun to experience serious workforce challenges,” citing all kinds of reasons why it cannot seem to hire enough personnel to process requests in a timely manner. One would think this was a huge department with enormous staffing requirements. So how many people work in the FOIA department? 104.25. (Don’t ask me what 0.25 of a person looks like, ‘cause I don’t tell. Besides, one quarter of a person sounds pretty gross. Is that the top quarter, the bottom quarter or one of the middle quarters?) A hundred people? And they’re having difficulty staffing the department? This is the federal government, which currently employs several million people! If it wanted to adequately staff the FOIA department, it could do so with a few clicks on a computer keyboard, and the additional salaries wouldn’t even amount to a perceptible blip in the government’s annual budget deficit. If, instead, the government wishes to retain its secrets, what better way than to minimize the number of people authorized to divulge them?

Conclusion

Who was it, again, who said, “The very word ‘secrecy’ is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings”? Oh, yeah, it was President John F. Kennedy, in 1961, and sad to say, official secrecy, beginning with the investigation of President Kennedy’s own death, has only become more endemic and more brazen.

November 7, 2008 – Have you ever started a “simple” project that just kept getting more and more involved? Welcome to my world!

By Dave Eriqat

At least, that’s the case when living in an old house. I should have applied the lessons learned in my youth about old cars. Back then I used to buy old cars, because they were cheap. But they were cheap for a reason: they needed a lot of TLC, in other words, a lot of hard work. Well, old houses are like old cars, only more time consuming and more expensive!

Replacing The Mailbox

Replacing a mailbox ought to be a simple task, right? You just unbolt the old one and bolt on the new one. Simple. Wrong! First of all, the new mailbox is a different size from the old one, which had some funky, dilapidated custom bracket barely holding it in place. The mailbox post is old, non-standard, and embedded in a massive block of concrete. And did I mention that the post was all rusty? After pretty much an entire day of sanding the old post, repainting it, fabricating a new custom bracket out of a block of wood and painting it, I finally got the new mailbox installed. No wonder I let it sit on my office floor for a year before installing it; I knew it was going to be a challenge. At least my neighbor said my installation looked “very professional,” even though the post still leans to the left. But, as I said, it’s stuck in a block of concrete, so leaning it shall remain. The spiders love the new mailbox too, having set up home in it several times now.

Making The Front Door Open And Close Easily

Opening my front door requires Houdini-like finesse. If entering from outside, you have to pull the door toward you while turning the key in the lock. Then while holding the lock you push the door open. So the procedure is pull, turn, push like a sumo wrestler, and put a little knee into it. Actually, it’s a great security system because nobody can figure out how to open the door! No wonder I usually go in and out through the back door.

After a couple of years of dealing with the front door it was getting a bit annoying, so I decided to make the door operate a little easier. I removed copper weather stripping from the bottom of the door, on the assumption that it was creating resistance against the threshold. Of course, in the process numerous rusty nails broke off in the bottom edge of the door, precluding use of my fancy power planer – I love that thing! It’s the best tool for making doors close properly in an old house with crooked door jambs. Anyway, I finally figured out that the problem with the door is that the screws in the hinges are loose and not fully supporting the door, so it’s dragging on the threshold. So I removed more copper weather stripping to gain access to the hinges and installed longer screws. Now the door was fully supported and not dragging on the threshold anymore, but there was just one problem: the door jamb is no longer square and the latches in the door don’t line up with the holes in the door jamb!

Exasperated, I put everything back the way it was and covered the threshold with a piece of vinyl to reduce friction and at least make the door open and close a little more easily. So a solution to this problem is still pending. I may get around to fixing it properly in a couple more years.

Vinyl helps the door slide more smoothly across the threshold

Replacing The Bidet With A Sink

I think a bidet is a fine idea, but I prefer toilet paper. The previous owners of my house evidently thought a bidet would be a neat idea, so they installed one in the downstairs bathroom. Unfortunately it stuck out halfway across the doorway, requiring one to sashay from side to side when navigating a course to the shower, dodging the bidet on the left, the sink on the right and the toilet on the left.

So when I installed new sinks and toilets, I thought it would be a nice idea to relocate the sink to where the bidet was. That would put the sink and toilet on the same side and make passage through the bathroom unobstructed. While the hot and cold water lines to the bidet worked properly, the poor plumber discovered that the drain pipe from the bidet went nowhere; it just emptied under the house!

Now, if I were a plumber crawling around under the bidet and just realized that the drain pipe went nowhere, I’d be a little grossed out, but it didn’t seem to faze him. Another plumber who visited my house regaled me with a tale about a guy whose toilet was emptying under the house for years. It was only the steadily intensifying odor that alerted the owners that something was wrong. When the plumber opened the door to the crawlspace under the house, well, let’s just say a muddy, fragrant tidal wave poured forth. And then the plumber crawled under the house to fix the problem! I hope he took a barf bag with him!

Anyway, I got the bidet removed and worked my magic to patch the rather large holes in the floor. Assuming that I’d never be able to find replacement tiles to match the ones on the floor, I mixed up various enamel paints to match the color and painted the tiles and grout lines onto the floor!

I’ll bet you can’t tell where the five holes in the floor were

Hanging A Painting Or Two

I have a bunch of old oil paintings, some of which are rather heavy, weighing as much as thirty pounds. One day about two years ago I got inspired and naively decided to hang all my paintings. So I got out my usual picture hangers, the same ones I’ve used repeatedly over the years, and nailed one into the wall. To my dismay, not only did the nail not strike anything substantial inside, but I was able to easily pull the nail out of the crumbling plaster wall with my fingers. Discouraged, I spent the next two years ruminating on a solution.

A few days ago I got inspired again and asked my neighbor for some long nails. Fed up with the situation, I figured I’d just drive some long nails into the studs. My neighbor cautioned me that the lath supporting the plaster was springy and difficult to hammer nails through, which tended to cause the walls to crumble further, so he suggested using screws, which was my own preferred solution a couple of years ago!

So I took my neighbor’s advice and went home to start drilling. Alas, any fool can drill holes in a wall, but can they locate a stud? The walls are old – over a hundred years old – and it appears that the studs aren’t on regular 16-inch centers like in modern houses. So for every good hole I drilled in the wall, there is one more “test” hole that came up dry. Between my knuckle rapping on the wall – my knuckle is still sore – a tape measure and an electronic stud finder, I only successfully located a stud one time out of two.

Mis-colored patch marks on walls. Notice my unfinished “drapes”?

After three days I finally did manage to get all the paintings securely hung, and then started the arduous task of patching all my borings plus the myriad holes from the picture hooks still resident on the wall from the time I moved in. After depositing white patch marks all over the walls I decided to paint them. So I went to local hardware store and bought some paint that matched the paint on one of the old picture hangers I removed. The only problem was that the old picture hanger was beneath a picture all these years, so it remained clean, while the rest of the walls darkened with age and dirt. While the paint I bought matches the clean original paint, it doesn’t match the dirty paint covering most of the wall! I should have had the hardware store guy add some “dirt” pigment to match the color. The former highly noticeable white patches have been replaced by highly noticeable clean painted patches! Oh well, I guess it’s better than white. I have on my “to do” list repainting the entire interior of the house. Ha! We’ll see if I get that done within a decade.

Hanging A Curtain Rod

I wanted to hang a curtain rod and some drapes over the living room doorway to keep the room warm in the winter. Since the curtain rod isn’t too heavy I decided to mount it using plastic anchors in the brittle plaster walls. So I drilled a large hole for the anchor, inserted it into the wall and put a screw into it. Lo and behold, the anchor started rotating in the wall! So I pulled it out, smeared some expanding glue on it and shoved it back in. After the glue dried I reinserted the screw and everything held OK.

Then it came time to do the drapes. Unfortunately, the doorway is over eight feet high, but the longest drapes one can buy off the shelf are only seven feet high, at least a foot too short. Great! So I bought some fabric to make my own drapes, but I have no sewing machine so the “drapes” have been hanging unfinished over the doorway for over a year while I decide whether to buy a sewing machine just to make the drapes, as if I even know how to use a sewing machine. That could be a disaster in itself.

Reclaiming A Cabinet

I’ve been cleaning out my house – I’ve been doing it for two years! – and I’m down to the basement. The people I bought the house from several years ago never threw anything away, so every nook and cranny is stuffed with … well … stuff. Useless stuff too. Yesterday, among many other things, I threw out at least three dirty old radiator caps that they were saving for … I don’t know what. Over the last two years I’ve had hauled away at least – I’m not exaggerating – a ton of crap from the house. And there’s still the crawlspace under the house that’s also full of stuff! There’s also an old steel tank in the basement that must weigh a thousand pounds – I can’t even wiggle it. The walls of the tank must be two inches thick. I wish I could haul that out and sell it for scrap. Not a chance! That tank is going to sit there forever, immovable, like a massive boulder.

Steel tank in basement. Anyone want it?

Anyway, I’m cleaning out this cabinet in the basement, one that’s filled with all manner of leaking, intermingling, noxious chemicals that must have been in there for decades, when I get this bright idea. I says to meself, “Well, blow me down, this would make a nice cabinet for the laundry room.” I literally said that! No, just kidding.

So I haul the thing out of the basement and wash it down because it was covered with decades of dust. Then I go to the local hardware store and buy some white paint and some new handles, as the original ones were literally crumbling. Then I discover that the existing paint on the cabinet is oil-based, but I bought latex. So it’s back to the hardware store for some primer and cheap disposable brushes, as the primer is oil-based and too hard to clean off the brushes. Then I find that the side walls are loosely attached to the rest of the cabinet, so I installed some screws. Then I discover that it leans backward and to one side, so I shaved off part of the base. Then the glass doors have an art deco graphic painted on them which is coming off, so I finished the job and stripped it off entirely.

Finally I started painting the darned thing with the noxious primer, which I can only take for an hour before nearly passing out. When I got done breathing all those fumes I hardly needed my afternoon cocktail! (I had it anyway, and I have to say, paint fumes and alcohol are a terrific combo!) Try though I did, it was evidently impossible to avoid getting paint all over my hands and my sweatshirt, one of my dress sweatshirts too, without any holes in it. Argh! Fortunately WD-40 removed the paint from my hands and the sweatshirt. Now the question is, how to get the WD-40 out of the sweatshirt! Oh, and there’s nothing like starting to paint the cabinet door and realizing that although you cleverly masked the glass on the inside, you forgot to mask it on the outside! So you have to stop painting, run and get the masking tape and hurriedly mask the glass before the paintbrush hardens.

In about a week, after I finish priming and painting the thing – oh – and replacing the broken door latches with magnetic latches, I should have a nice cabinet. Then there’s another cabinet to refurbish for the bathroom!

Refurbished cabinet, after 12 hours of labor and $30 in paint and hardware. Notice my nice “art deco” graphic I painted on the glass, and the formerly rusted hinges I painted with the same copper paint.

While it would have certainly been easier to just go buy a couple of cabinets, I really do find all this effort satisfying. I also think the skill to refurbish things will be increasingly valuable in the future as things become scarcer and more expensive.

The funny thing is that I’ve come full circle from my childhood. When I was a kid my family was too poor to just go out and buy new things, so we spent a lot of effort refurbishing things. As I got older and wealthier I didn’t hesitate to go buy new things because it was easier. But now that I live on a tight budget but have lots of time, refurbishing things is appealing again.

What’s Next?

Those words have a double meaning. There’s “What’s next?”, spoken in an exasperated tone after hastily fixing the latest acute problem. Then there’s “What’s next?”, as in what new torment do I wish to voluntarily inflict upon myself: tiling the bathroom floor, tiling the kitchen counters, painting the exterior of the house, or one of the hundred other things on my house “to do” list?

Being concerned about sustainable living in times of adversity, it occurred to me that it might be nice to have a heat source that wasn’t dependent on electricity or natural gas. So I bought a wood burning stove specifically so it will fit inside the fireplace in the living room. It’s shaped perfectly so that it can be vented right up the chimney.

Wood burning stove, waiting to be installed, somewhere

Why don’t I simply use the fireplace, you ask? Because it’s not a wood burning fireplace! What were they thinking?! I think it may have been a coal burning fireplace at one time, but now houses logs designed to burn propane from an outside tank. Unfortunately, the fireplace flu is sealed shut, or perhaps it’s just rusted shut. Even if I can get it open, I have to wonder what manner of horrors reside in the chimney: leaves, bird nests, dirt. My neighbor tells me the previous owners had no end of trouble with the chimney leaking rain, which leads me to wonder if that’s why the flu is sealed. Everything in this house is like that: like pulling teeth. On the rare occasion when something goes smoothly – such as when I successfully replaced the kitchen faucet – I feel exceedingly fortunate.

Most people take for granted the basic characteristics of a domicile: a roof that keeps the rain out, pipes that keep the water in, lights and electrical outlets that work, exterior and interior doors that close, windows that open, foundations that aren’t sinking into the soil. For me, these basics are treasured luxuries!

A few months ago, during the summer, I noticed that the basement was looking damp. I thought it strange since I wasn’t using the air conditioner – the usual reason for dampness down there – and it had not been raining much. Outside I noticed a depression in the ground near the dampness in the basement, so I got a couple of wheelbarrows of dirt from my neighbor and dumped them into the depression. The dampness in the basement seemed to diminish, but after the next rain the mound of dirt I had just dumped outside turned into a depression again, as if the dirt simply disappeared! So I dumped another couple of wheelbarrows of dirt on the spot and after the next rain it subsided again! So I don’t know where all this dirt is going, but it’s maddening.

A year or so ago I was cooking dinner in the kitchen during a frightful gale, when I heard the ominous sound of water splattering on the floor in the dining room. So I rushed in and saw water pouring in through one of the windows as rain was being driven against it outside. So I ran and grabbed a couple of my many buckets, which are never far from hand, and put them under the window. Naturally, it was nighttime – these problems always seem to occur at night – so I had to wait until morning to fix the problem. The next day I found that the wood molding above the window outside was rotten and spongy. Since replacing it would involve tearing the window apart, I called upon two of my three favorite exterior repair materials: aluminum flashing and caulk, my third favorite exterior repair material being roofing tar. Unfortunately, the house has 31 windows and most of them are in as bad a shape as the one in the dining room. Add it to the list!

And then there’s the roof leak above the laundry room, which defies all my efforts to fix it. I have a quartet of buckets in the laundry room to catch the leaking water when it rains. Collectively the buckets play kind of a nice symphony when it rains.

Laundry room percussion section

That reminds me, I’ve got to go get the laundry out of the dryer. Unfortunately, I just remembered that the light no longer works in the laundry room and it’s dark now. Bummer! The light used to work, but for some reason about six months ago it just stopped working. I fear some critter has “eaten” the wiring. Fortunately, I discovered that the kitchen light – which thankfully still works – can produce twilight conditions in the laundry room, so I guess I should quit whining. After all, the upstairs don’t work at all. I had an electrician here for two hours and he couldn’t figure out why!

And the other day, after a saturating rainfall, I think I heard another roof leak coming from the peak of the roof. Great! It’s only thirty feet high, with a steep pitch, and the house is perched above a steep slope, so if one falls off, it’s a really, really long way down. I sure don’t relish crawling up there, but I guess I’m going to have to. That new leak is probably thanks to the birdbrained birds that keep mistaking my house for a tree and keep trying to peck holes in the roof! I’m not kidding. These woodpecker-type birds are literally trying to peck holes in my roof and walls in which to insert nuts or grubs or something. I see them pecking and trying to shove something into gaps. I’m sort of ashamed to admit it, but I got so exasperated with the birds pecking away at the roof that I got out my air rifle and ran outside a couple of times to dispatch this one clever bugger. Fortunately for him, he flew off just before I could get a bead on him. Then he continued to taunt me, pecking away for thirty seconds or so, just long enough for me to recognize the sound and dash outside before he flew away, laughing. I would regret shooting one of these beautiful birds, but they are literally trying to peck holes in the roof! The raccoons tear open the siding on the house. The mice chew up stuff in the walls. They’re like some kind of supernatural house demolition tag team.

Inside the house, my biggest cleaning chore is the spider webs. They clog the vacuum cleaner brush and I have to constantly stop vacuuming the house and vacuum the vacuum cleaner brush to rid it of spider webs!

I keep wishing some of the critters would eat some of the other critters. Why can’t the spiders eat the mud daubers and lady bugs? Then the mice can eat the spiders. Then the raccoons can eat the mice. See, a nice, neat little ecosystem, and it absolves me of having to eradicate all these pests! Oh, and why don’t bird-eating spiders take up residence outside – there are already colorful and creepy two-inch spiders in residence outside – and eat some of the birds that can’t distinguish my house from a tree?

It’s a rare day when I don’t hear “something” inside the walls. Until a few days ago some critter was taunting me, chewing and scratching out several new domiciles within my walls and ceiling. Then there was silence. Then I found a poor little mouse mangled in a mousetrap in the basement (just one of three unlucky victims so far). I suppose that was the poor critter who was taunting me, but it won’t be the last. I have no friggin’ idea how these critters are getting in the walls. I’ve inspected the house dozens of times and I cannot find any openings around the base or the roof where these critters could be getting into the walls. It’s utterly exasperating! It’s as if my house has a neon sign on it, visible only to varmints, welcoming them all to come dine and repose.

Someone once commented to me that rural living was like being under siege by the animals, bugs and plants. I heartily concur! Such is life in an old house in the wilds of nature. Taking care of an old house like this is pretty much a full time job for a handyman, so it’s a good thing I don’t have a real job to interfere with my handyman duties! I feel like I’m in an endless race to fix the existing problems before new ones crop up. I think I’m pulling ahead in this race, but it’s hard to tell.

What was it Nietzsche said, that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger? If so, I should be ready for the world’s strongest man competition.

Update – 10 December 2008

It started innocently enough. All I wanted was to make the door to my “study” close. Until now I could only close the door to within six inches of the door jamb, owing to the immense distortion of the door jamb and the floor. Simple task, right? It took me five hours over two days to get it done! I had to remove the door five times and take it downstairs, shave off part of it, take it back upstairs, put it back on the hinges and identify where else the door was rubbing against the frame. Then I had to move the doorknob inward just a quarter of an inch. Then I had to move the strike plate on the door jamb down about three-quarters of an inch (like I said, the door jamb was very crooked).

Door, shaved with my beloved power planer

After much effort I can finally do what other people take for granted: close the door! The door is now square, but the door jamb is visibly crooked. But at least the door closes and latches. And on the bright side, I got to use my power planer, a tool I adore. Let’s see, I have only about ten more doors to fix in this manner – should take only fifty more hours…

November 3, 2008 – In 1933 the U.S. government confiscated gold from the people. In 2008 is it covertly repeating that exercise?

By Dave Eriqat

1933

Many people are aware that in 1933, President Roosevelt issued Presidential Executive Order 6102, explicitly confiscating gold from private citizens. Some chilling excerpts from that executive order include:

Section 2. All persons are hereby required to deliver on or before May 1, 1933, to a Federal Reserve bank or a branch or agency thereof or to any member bank of the Federal Reserve System all gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates now owned by them or coming into their ownership on or before April 28, 1933, except the following:
…
Section 3. Until otherwise ordered any person becoming the owner of any gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates after April 28, 1933, shall within three days after receipt thereof, deliver the same in the manner prescribed in Section 2;
…
Section 9. Whoever willfully violates any provision of this Executive Order or these regulation or of any rule, regulation or license issued there under may be fined not more than $10,000, or,if a natural person may be imprisoned for not more than ten years or both; and any officer, director, or agent of any corporation who knowingly participates in any such violation may be punished by a like fine, imprisonment, or both.

After the issuance of this executive order, any American owning gold was retroactively made a criminal and remained so until 1975 [1], even though the U.S. Constitution specifically states that only gold and silver may constitute money!

The confiscation of gold in 1933 had little practical benefit, even though the U.S. dollar was still then backed by gold. It was more of a psychological assault on the populace, intended to coerce them into using U.S. dollars. It also enriched the politically-connected insiders who were still allowed to hoard gold when the price was arbitrarily raised from $20 per ounce in 1932 to $35 per ounce in 1934, a quick 75% gain for those in possession of gold. [2]

2008

While I cannot prove gold is being confiscated today, a number of curious observations have converged, making me wonder if a covert confiscation process is underway, specifically:

• Prices are being relentlessly manipulated downward, apparently to dissuade people from purchasing precious metals. While many still argue against the theory that prices are being manipulated, I think the circumstantial evidence favoring manipulation is overwhelming.

• The supply of precious metals, primarily at the retail level (where the masses buy it), is shrinking worldwide. All over the world dealers have shrinking stock to sell, delivery times are increasing and government mints are reducing sales to the public. The U.S. Mint, in particular, cites soaring demand as the reason for its stock depletion. While demand is certainly soaring, in times past the U.S. Mint has been able to satisfy much higher demand than today! So clearly soaring demand is not the sole explanation. Shrinking supply is also a factor. (By the way, falling prices amid shrinking supply and soaring demand is one of the prime arguments in support of the notion that prices are being manipulated.)

• I see frequent TV commercials from companies offering to buy gold from the public, seemingly irrespective of market price movements. I can’t help but wonder if these companies are actually owned by the government or its agents. Even if they are not agents of the government, where do they sell the gold they collect? To the government? To the Federal Reserve? On the highly manipulated commodity futures market? The point is that the gold is being removed from the hands of the public and sequestered somewhere out of reach.

• Central banks, which until recently were selling gold like mad to help depress the price, have abruptly ceased selling. Of course, that reduces the supply of physical metal available for ordinary folks to buy.

• Finally, mining companies are seeing their stock prices pummeled, not to mention that at today’s prices it’s not cost-effective to even mine for precious metals, both of which will eventually reduce new supplies. And a significant portion of precious metal supply is extracted along with base metals, such as copper and zinc. But because demand and prices for these commodities have collapsed as well, the precious metal supply is reduced from that source too.

If one recognizes that today virtually all markets – stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, precious metals, and even real estate (bank bailouts, toxic MBS purchases, interest rate reductions, renegotiated mortgages) – are heavily manipulated by the powers-that-be, then looking at the above list it’s easy to believe that the PTB could be behind every one of these trends.

If one wanted to effect a covert confiscation of precious metals, how would they go about it? They would quietly reduce the supply to keep people from getting their hands on precious metals, while encouraging the public to disgorge themselves of what precious metals they already held. And to thwart the law of supply and demand, which one would expect to cause precious metals prices to rise in a low supply/high demand environment, the prices can be manipulated in a forum that lends itself to that endeavor, such as the paper commodity futures market. (By the way, allowing the paper contracts bought and sold on the futures market to establish the price of physical metal is like allowing a market for apples to establish the price of oranges.)

I’m not alone in my speculation about confiscation. Here’s an article from The International Forecaster, Slaves To The Orgy Of Money, that suggests something similar:

In essence, this bottleneck between the wholesale and retail levels of the market in precious metals amounts to a de facto confiscation of gold and silver from the masses.
…
In any case, most people in the US no longer own gold and silver. They are slaves to the orgy of money and credit that the Fed has provided, and they now worship paper over metal. This means that no confiscation is necessary to prevent the American sheople from having a place to store the value of their savings. All you have to do today is to keep US citizens from acquiring precious metals, first, by making it look too volatile to be a good investment, and second, by making it hard to acquire, especially in larger amounts. [My emphasis.]

Why Confiscate?

Today gold is theoretically even less relevant to the U.S. dollar than it was in 1933, but only theoretically. The U.S. dollar is, or until recently was “backed” by oil, since most of the oil on the planet is traded for dollars. The dollar is also “backed” by military muscle. Yet gold still holds tremendous psychological sway as a monetary alternative to dollars, sometimes even referred to as the “anti-dollar.” The Federal Reserve bank and central banks the world over hoard gold. Why? If the stuff has no value, if it is indeed a barbarous relic as has been asserted, they ought to sell it all. But they don’t because gold still provides an implicit psychological backing for fiat currencies. The fiat currency of a country that has no gold holdings would probably be trusted less than that of a country with gold holdings.

Nevertheless, although central banks apparently still need gold to imbue some legitimacy to their fiat currencies, they don’t want too much of a good thing. If people wise up and start storing their wealth in gold rather than in fiat currencies, the former will increase in value and the latter will decline in value. Issuers of such fiat currencies obviously don’t want their sole “product” to decline in value. So the trick for them is to balance the appeal of gold against that of fiat currencies. They must maintain a high enough valuation for gold so that it remains a credible asset with which to back their fiat currencies, but not too high a valuation so that people flock to gold instead of fiat currencies.

Today outright confiscation of gold makes little sense because U.S. dollars aren’t ostensibly backed by gold. Moreover, there are tens, if not hundreds of trillions of paper and electronic dollars floating around the globe. By contrast, all the gold ever mined from the earth is worth perhaps a couple of trillion dollars, and the amount of physical gold in the U.S. is probably worth no more than a few hundred billion dollars. So even if all the gold in the U.S. were confiscated it would amount to a figurative drop in the bucket compared to the amount of dollars circulating the planet. In other words, all that gold would do little to reinforce the backing of the currency. Overt confiscation of gold may, in fact, backfire and decimate the value of U.S. dollars, as people may view such an act as a desperate move to prop up a failing currency. Since dollars are used the world over, even though Americans may be deprived of alternatives to dollars, foreigners would not and they may well ditch their dollars specifically in favor of the very thing the U.S. wants to steer them away from: gold.

So if the powers-that-be wanted to confiscate gold today, it would be best to do it in a covert fashion, so as to not alarm either Americans or foreigners. But why might the PTB wish to confiscate gold today?

Demand among the masses is soaring. Remember, the PTB don’t want gold to become too desirable, but that’s exactly what is happening, so the genie must be stuffed back into the bottle.

This is a critically important time for the U.S. dollar and it cannot withstand the advent of a viable alternative. It’s widely accepted that the U.S. is effectively insolvent, meaning it cannot pay its day-to-day obligations. That’s why it must borrow $2 billion per day to keep operating. Its national debt cannot be paid back either. Ultimately the U.S. will go bankrupt and its currency, the dollar, will be destroyed.

Taking away as many alternatives to the dollar as possible, especially precious metals, is one way to extend the lifespan of the dollar. Perhaps once the dollar begins its final, irreversible descent to death is when the Amero will be introduced to replace it. Naturally, the people behind the Amero would not want a fledgling currency to have to compete with precious metals as a store of wealth, so weaning people off precious metals now might be part of the groundwork for the introduction of the Amero.

Such preparations are especially imperative when one considers that outside the U.S. there is frequent talk of creating new regional currencies that are based on precious metals. Perhaps even the Amero might be based on precious metals, which is all the more reason to take precious metals off the market right now, to accumulate the backing asset for these new currencies.

Another goal might be to steer people away from tangible stores of value, such as precious metals, and into paper realms which can be easily manipulated and looted, such as exchange traded funds, or ETFs. While in theory, ETFs are supposed to back each share with physical metal, I have my doubts, and I expect that ETFs will eventually devolve into the same kind of manipulated sham as the commodity futures market. Some observers have already noted discrepancies between physical metal and outstanding shares in some ETFs, and have even suggested that naked short selling is occurring. Not only is that not supposed to happen in a market that’s ostensibly 100% backed by physical metal, but naked short selling is a favorite tool for manipulation. Moreover, ETFs are managed by the very same insider corporations that are at the center of today’s financial storm. Can they really be trusted? Do they really have all the metal in their vaults that they claim? By contrast, one doesn’t have to trust physical metal, especially if it’s resting heavily in their own hands.

Conclusion

I have no proof that a quiet confiscation of precious metals is underway, but it looks like a plausible possibility. There are some good reasons why such a confiscation might occur and why it might be done covertly.

References

1. The Political and Economic Agenda for a Real Gold Standard, by Ron Paul.

2. Historical gold prices.

Update – December 1, 2008

Here’s an interesting and lucid article about The Early Gold Wars. It provides some background and reinforces the claim that governments around the world, especially that of the U.S. have been “at war” with gold for quite some time.

Update – January 1, 2009

Here is an interesting interview with the principals from GATA, titled Is the COMEX Just a Farce? It reinforces many of my assertions here, in particular, that there is a concerted global effort to keep precious metals out of the hands of the public. Here’s a relevant quote:

I receive reports EVERY day of gold coin shortages in countries around the world –from Germany, to Argentina, to Canada, to England, all of Asia, etc. Months ago the US Mint announced it was curtailing production of US gold coins.

Last week the Mexican Central bank limited sales of its Libertad silver coins. This is no accident. It is an organized effort to limit demand for gold and silver and keep this kind of money out of the hands of the people. [My emphasis.]

And:

As mentioned earlier, there is no doubt in my mind there is a coordinated effort, not only by the US (it emanated here of course), but all countries to limit the amount of gold and silver that ends up in the hands of citizens.

The interview also reinforces my belief that “banning” outright the private ownership of gold, ala the 1930s, would be counterproductive. To quote:

Instead of banning gold ownership, they are making it less available, hence the extraordinary premiums. I can’t imagine the US banning gold ownership. So few Americans own it. People would say, “HUH?” The rest of the world would then laugh at us and buy all they could. That would be the death knell of the dollar. [My emphasis.]

Finally, the price suppression schemes aimed at gold and silver are tantamount to price controls. As many people have pointed out over the years, price controls usually produce two consequences, which are, shortages and the formation of alternative markets. We’re seeing both of those consequences manifest themselves in the gold and silver markets, which confirms the view that their prices are being “controlled.” Shortages are becoming increasingly apparent, and alternative markets – to the COMEX – are becoming increasingly popular as well. These alternative markets include local coin dealers, larger online dealers and eBay.