A little while ago, some small farmers in California, minding their own business, were raided by men with drawn guns, ready to shoot. It’s not unusual—violence like this goes on every day. Men with guns are terrorizing small farms right now, and Oregonians rightfully demand an end to the wave of violence. Armed, roving criminals, perhaps, plundering the countryside? Drug gangs growing marijuana on their rival’s turf? No. It’s not criminal gangs battling each other, and it isn’t psychotic killers stalking peaceful family farms. It is the police. Farmers all over the USA are being raided for selling milk, meat, eggs and other healthful foods! Please check out this link: http://www.grist.org/article/food-five-tips-for-surviving-a-raid-on-your-farm-or-food-club/. Small children held at gunpoint while their parents are accused of… selling milk! This is the United States Department of Agriculture at work, protecting you. It’s for your own protection, of course.
Joel Saladin of Polyface Farms notes a few of the USDA’s “best practices” in his book, “Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal.” What are some of these best practices? They include the disgusting practice of feeding cows up to 50% chicken manure. Is it any wonder why organic farming is on the rise? I’ve raised cows and sold milk, and I want to keep my freedom to eat healthful food. Don’t you want the freedom to choose milk from cows not fed antibiotics, hormones and chicken manure? The right to choose what we eat is supported by such groups as the Oregon Consumer and Farmers Association http://www.oregonfarmrights.com/. This association has endorsed my candidacy.
We must stop government from protecting us to death. A wise man once said, “The best government is the one that charges me the least blackmail to be left alone.” There are several different bills before Congress that will change our access to fresh, locally grown food. We must work to stop the progress of these oppressive bills and allow farmers to grow what we want to eat. Please see the link http://www.oregonfarmrights.com/gpage.html for more information. Even more outrageous, there are more pending bills that would make all nutritional supplements and medicinal herbs require a doctor’s prescription!
Can we have an effect by letting our voices and votes be counted? The answer is YES! Check out http://www.anh-usa.org/latest-mccain-bill-update/. This prescriptions-for-vitamins bill appears to be stopped (for now). Are you aware that five times more Americans die from prescription drugs, taken as prescribed, than all illegal drugs and prescription drugs self-prescribed combined? How much less dangerous is food?
Who has the right to determine what you are allowed to eat? There appears to be a war on small farmers going on in our nation. How can we stand up and stop the harassment so people can eat what they think is most healthful? If my daughter, a 27-year-old adult, prefers Feverfew an herbal remedy that is more effective, has no side effects and is far less expensive than the Imitrex shots her doctor prescribed, who is harmed? Only the pharmaceutical companies and the politicians they own!
The real question is, WHO OWNS YOU? We have allowed government to become an overbearing monster from which we must get permission even to catch a fish. The goal of all government is to extend their size, scope and power, which is why our Constitution was written to limit the power of government to protect the rights of the people. As Joel Saladin says, "Governments, one and all, partake of the nature of rackets. They become partners in crime and ultimately annihilate the civilization over which they preside."Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1802: "If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them, they must become happy." The conflict is not the rich versus the poor, but between regular people and the politically connected or government class. The government elite are paid twice, on average, what we the average American earns. Check out www.usatoday.com/money/economy/income/2010-08-10-1Afedpay10_ST_N.htm.
Please, let’s retake control of our government and restore some common sense before it’s too late. Won’t you support me this November?
Delia
Delia@dlopezforcongress.com
503-954-4080
P.S. My campaign is entirely grassroots and funded by individual donations. We have had over 1100 different people donate to our campaign. Our average donation is $13 if each person donates just $10 that would make a huge difference in buying media time. My opponent has nearly 1 million dollars the vast majority from PAC's and Corporations.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Downsize DC blog post
I want to bring attention to a group that is working to reduce the size, scope, and power of government to restore freedom and prosperity to our nation. Check out http://www.downsizedc.org. They are supporting six bills, any one of which would be a giant leap in the right direction. If we could manage to get all six passed, it would be a great victory and cause to celebrate. I will help buy the beer! I swear, if elected to congress I will co-sponsor every one of them. I will work hard to get each one passed: the Read the Bills Act, One Subject at a Time Act, Write the Laws Act, Free Competition in Currency Act, Enumerated Powers Act, and the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Such common-sense bills must be passed, and we must work to get those elected who will do so. It is for our children and grandchildren. Our founding fathers pledged their lives, property, and sacred honor to give us freedom. Can we do any less for our children?
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Tomato Bubble!
I did not write this not sure who did, great job.
Ever wonder about why our economy is in trouble? How can so many people can be in so much debt at the same time? Does it seem strange to you no matter how hard one works, and in spite of all the advances in society, most hard working people cannot escape the treadmill of perpetual debt?
Why are so many families losing their homes to foreclosure? Why are many households dependent upon credit cards to supplement their income? Why does it take TWO spouses to maintain a household when it used to take just one? Why have so many retirement savings been wiped out? Why do prices always creep up?
Did you know that roughly 1/4 of all income taxes are consumed to pay interest on the Federal Debt? (National Debt currently 12 TRILLION DOLLARS , or about $100,000 per household.) Think about it. Every penny that you pay in income tax from January-April is consumed to pay interest! (*2009 Income Tax revenues: $1.2 Trillion / Interest owed on Debt: $350 Billion) And let's not even talk about the Government's unfunded future liabilities, estimated at 70 TRILLION. (an additional $600,000+ per household.)
Add those staggering sums to your mortgage debt, car loan debt, student loan debt, credit card debt, State debt, County debt, City/Town debt, small business debt, big business debt, and you will see that the total of these debts actually exceeds (BY FAR) the amount of money supply in circulation.
So, how can such astronomical debt ever be repaid? Well, if you haven't figured it out yet - IT CAN'T. The only way to service just the interest on these monstrous debts is to constantly take on new debts.
Finally, on top of all your Federal, State, gasoline, and local taxes, (30% - 40% of your gross income) and on top of your personal debt service burden (another 25%-50%), there's this thing called "inflation", or "the cost of living." What exactly is "the cost of living?" What causes it? Why does a dollar buy less and less each year while wages stay flat?
Is the stress of perpetual debt and rising prices keeping you up at night? How many strokes, heart attacks, and even suicides are induced by financial stress each year? Money and debt may even have led to your drinking problem, or perhaps even to depression. Debt may have been the underlying cause of your divorce or that of some couple that you know.
You know in your gut that something isn't right in this country. But you don't have the "Economics education" to figure it out. It all seems too complicated for you to put your finger on, so you just keep slaving away to pay interest and taxes as your dollar buys less and less. All you can do is keep working like a dog and leave the matter to the Wall Street "experts" and politicians to handle for you.
But it's all quite simple really. So simple in fact, even a dummy can understand it when it is broken down to basic elements.
So then, how exactly did you all become such debt/tax/inflation slaves? Well, I'll let you in on my little secret. You will be amazed at how easy it is to understand.
My name is Mortimer M. Moneybags III and this is the true story of how I bankrupted and enslaved my hometown of Tomatoville, USA:
THE SETUP
One night, Bill, Frank, John, and Mike came over to my place for a friendly game of poker. My four neighbors are all prosperous tomato farmers. Tomatoes actually serve as the currency of Tomatoville, USA.
Before starting, the five of us agree to each put up 10 tomatoes as our "risk capital." That's a total of 50 tomatoes. (Gross Domestic Product - GDP)
Play begins and we realize that trading tomatoes during our bets is awkward. I suggest that we utilize paper notes to represent our tomatoes instead. Because I hold a degree from Harvard, all agree that I should act as "Central Banker".
We place our tomatoes in the center of the table and I print 50 paper notes with the face of Tomatoville's founder on them (corresponding to the 50 total tomatoes, 10 notes for each player). Each paper note therefore represents 1 tomato....simple. (sound money/hard money/gold standard)
As play resumes, I have an unseen advantage over my guests. At 30 minute intervals, I repeatedly excuse myself for a "bathroom break." (Fed Meetings) During this time, I'm actually sneaking into my bedroom and printing up more 1 tomato notes (fiat money).
Upon returning, I gradually gamble and inject ever increasing amounts of notes (liquidity)into the game (the economy). By midnight, the original 50 notes has increased to 500 total notes.
After ebbs and flows, the game was remarkably even at midnight. The five of us, who had each started out with 10 notes apiece, now held 100 notes apiece. But the same 50 tomatoes -the true intrinsic value of the game - (GDP) remain in the jackpot.
Because we are getting so "rich" from the game, I propose that instead of ending the game, we leave everything as is and resume play the following month.
"Why don't you fellows spend some of your Tomato Notes, and save some to invest in next month's play. Tell the shopkeepers that each Tomato Note represents one tomato that is still sitting on this table. They'll accept the Notes as if they were actual tomatoes."
"Great idea Mortimer! The paper is so much more convenient to trade than the tomatoes." replied Mike.
All agree to suspend play and resume next month. Before they leave, I announce that I'm cashing in 20 of my 100 notes in order to make tomato sauce the following day.
At the original ratio of 1 note to 1 tomato, my 20 notes trade for 20 tomatoes. I have doubled my original "investment" of 10 tomatoes (profit taking), and still have 80 paper notes with which to resume the game next month. There are now only 30 total tomatoes remaining on the table.
As I expected, my friends have no intention of cashing in any of their "winnings" because the returns from the game are so high. They each hold 100 notes and really believe that their original 10 tomatoes have yielded a 10 to 1 return from playing the game (Bull Market, irrational exuberance).
When the players explain to the town merchants that the Tomato Notes represent actual tomatoes that are stored at my house, the merchants gladly accept the notes as if they were actual tomatoes. During the ensuing month, the players spend many of their notes and take out various loans as well.
Bill buys his wife a new sports car by putting down 25 Tomato Notes and taking a loan for the balance. (Detroit prospers.)
Frank takes out a small business loan to open up that restaurant he's always dreamed about(job creation).
John puts down a 50 Note down payment and signs a contract for a new home mortgage (housing boom).
Mike spends 40 of his Tomato Notes and also goes on a credit card shopping spree (consumer confidence).
The local bank manager also trusts that the Tomato Note income of the borrowers represents true wealth, so he honestly believes that he is not engaged in risky lending when he lends out his depositors tomatoes to the successful poker winners. (Sub Prime mortgages, No Money Down Mortgages)
The bank then sells some of the loan notes to The Tomato Street investment houses. Blinded by greed, and ignorant of "the big picture", Tomato Street portfolio managers believe that the debts are solid investments for their clients. (secondary market ,mortgage backed securities)
So not only do the four players believe that they are prospering, but the businessmen that are now selling more goods to the wealthy poker players believe that they are earning more Tomatoes also! They too increase their personal spending and borrowing accordingly. (multiplier effect)
Me? I just rub my hands in glee and laugh at how foolish these people are.
The economy of Tomatoville is BOOMING......or so it seems.
THE STING
The Poker players and I meet again at my place and pick up where we left off the month before. After a few hours of more silent note injection, 1000 notes now circulate evenly among the players (200 each). My guests boast among themselves about all the new toys they have recently charged. They aren't worried about the debts they are incurring because, if necessary, they can always cash in their abundant paper notes for tomatos (equity) and pay everything off free and clear.
After a few more hours of play, I decide to trade in 20 more paper notes for 20 more tomatoes (insider trading). My friends ridicule me. "Mortimer! Why would you trade in notes for tomatoes when we are all making so much money?" they ask.
"I just want to lock in some of my winnings now. You never know if fortunes may turn." I replied.
I have now "earned" a total of 40 of the original 50 tomatoes from the table, quadrupling my initial investment. Whereas my scam was not obvious before, my victims now clearly see that the true value of the tomato jackpot has diminished (recession, Bear Market). They each started with 10 tomatoes. So how come they hold hundreds of notes when there are only 10 tomatoes left for the four of them to divide?
Bill panics. "I'm trading in!" he declares. He dumps all 200 of his notes and attempts to grab the remaining 10 tomatoes (stock market crash, bank run)."
Not so fast Bill!" declares Frank. "If you get those remaining tomatoes there will be none left for us!"
"Oh my God! Mortimer! What's happened here?" Mike asks.
My expression turns somber as I reply:
"Damn! I was afraid this might happen. Because we were doing so well, the game "overheated". The Tomato Note fell against the tomato. When that happens, the cost of playing goes up (inflation) and then a contraction occurs (recession). It's a natural cycle."
"So how do we allocate the remaining tomatoes?" John asks.
"Simple." I replied. "It's called currency devaluation. You four each have 200 notes in hand, and I have 160. That's a total of 960 notes in circulation (money supply). There are 10 tomatoes remaining. Divide the 960 notes by the remaining 10 tomatoes and the new cost of a tomato is therefore 96 notes (hyper-inflation). That means that your 200 notes can buy back 2 of the remaining 10 tomatoes for each of you."
The paper Tomato Note currency has lost its purchasing power (inflation, bubble bursting) and my 4 neighbors have each lost 8 of the original 10 tomatoes they had once owned. I walk away with 42 of the original 50 tomatoes. (real wealth)
***AUTHOR'S NOTE***
If the players had added 950 tomatoes to the original 50 (GDP growth), there could be no bubble and the Tomato Note would have retained its 1-1 value. (1000 notes / 1000 tomatoes) In any monetary system, increased production serves to make a currency stronger. But Mortimer could still have debased the currency by printing up even more notes and then being the first one to "cash out." In bubble economics the first sellers to get out of the game (stock market, real estate market etc), will profit unfairly by receiving inflated "fake" value for their stocks, homes, currency etc. When the game then adjusts to the burst bubble value, the remaining sellers get less. (Examples: Investors who sold their stocks when the Dow Jones was at 14,000. Homeowners who sold in 2006 at the peak of the real estate bubble. Investors who in 2007 exchanged US dollars for gold or other hard commodities.)
An honest money system keeps the growth of money supply proportionate to the growth of goods and services (GDP) for a 1-1 ratio. (no inflation / no deflation) But when money is printed "out of thin air" (as opposed to gold or silver which have intrinsic value due to rarity and beauty ) Mortimer is always ahead of the players, especially when he starts lending notes to the Mayor and local bank, at interest. When that happens, all of Tomatoville becomes Mortimer's poker game.
But the real problem is that the four suckers, believing they were "wealthy", had charged up a lifestyle that they can no longer sustain.
That car Bill bought for his wife? Can you say "Repo Man?"
Franks new restaurant? The chefs and some waiters will have to be laid off (increased unemployment).
Mike's credit card bills? Soon to be delinquent and destroying his credit rating. (credit crunch, local Bank losses)
John's new home? Foreclosure, followed by divorce (housing slump).
The merchants who had sold or loaned to them will also be negatively affected. Anyone who had dealings with the free spending Poker players is also holding devalued notes and possibly carrying bad debts. The artificial debt & inflation prosperity had spread like viruses, and now the malinvestment balloon has to painfully deflate.
The bewildered and frightened town folk don't understand how this happened. Because of my Ivy League credentials, coupled with the fact that I have accumulated so much wealth, they look to me for expert advice and answers.
I explain to them that we are in a liquidity crisis:
"Friends! This is part of the natural business cycle. Sure, you have suffered a short term loss, but in the long term we all come out OK as the markets recover. You saw how much wealth you had earned. If you get out of the game you'll be locking in your losses."
"The market has hit bottom. Truth be told, you guys helped create this mess yourselves with your reckless consumer borrowing, and the local bank should have known better than to lend its depositors tomatoes out so carelessly. (blaming the symptoms, instead of the cause) This is the problem with free market capitalism sometimes."
"I will advise Mayor Bulshitz to institute new legislation, a huge stimulus package, and more regulation over private enterprise (New Deal). We shall create a social safety net in order to protect you from future naturally occurring business cycles." (Great Society, War on Poverty)
"Greedy CEO's, town's shopkeepers, and your employers created this mess and it must never happen again. (class warfare) We will impose strict price controls to fight the inflation that the greedy , price-gouging shopkeepers caused."
"We will tax the rich! (Federal Income Tax, established in 1913) Free health care! Free education! (socialism) Liberty! Equality! Fraternity! Change we can believe in! Hope! Yes we can! Workers unite! You have nothing to lose but the chains which bind you!"
"Don't worry about the town's Constitution. It's an outdated document written by a bunch of dead white guys. If we are to fix this mess, then we must ignore its limitations on progressive government action."
***AUTHOR'S NOTE***
To feed the insatiable debt monster, and to maintain confidence in his notes, Mortimer must have a perpetually growing GDP (more tomatoes). If not, runaway debt and inflation will cause the economy to implode sooner, rather than later. GDP growth is fueled by "consumer spending"(consumption) and the constant borrowing which enables it. This is why economists, politicians, and other assorted lunatics are so obsessed with constant GDP growth.
.
.
"The tomato must no longer serve as the backing for our currency. To meet the liquidity needs of our new system, it is imperative that we get this town off of that antiquated, "barbaric fruit" Standard (hard money) and transition to my expertly managed paper currency." (fiat money)
"As far as the poker markets go, now is the time to play even more aggressively (buy low). We'll meet again next month. In the meantime, work harder and bring more tomatoes to the next game, I'll print more notes to increase liquidity and induce the banks to loosen up credit once again. (pump priming)
"If the local banks need to make more loans, I'll lower their reserve requirements so that they can lend (create) money that they don't have. As long as too many depositors don't make withdrawals all at the same time, like you fellows did in our poker game, they'll be none the wiser." (fractional reserve banking)
Even if there is a bank run, or if the bank's loan demand exceeds it's reserve requirement, I'll act as the "lender of last resort" (Federal Reserve, established in 1913) and lend (create money for) to the local bank at interest (Bank takeover, Discount Window).
I will also lend to (create money for) the Mayor's office (Open Market Operations, purchase of T-Bills, stimulus) , and bail out (create money for) the Tomato Street Brokerage houses that I deem to be "too big to fail" (Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan bailout package).
I continue: "Finally, I will organize an emergency meeting of the Mayors, Finance Ministers, and Note Printers of the European towns (G-20, "world stage"). Now is not the time for isolationism. (independence, sovereignty) Global problems demand global solutions! (IMF, World Bank, WTO, UN)."
"We will recover. So keep spending, secure in the knowledge that the best and the brightest of the world community are on the job. We have nothing to fear but fear itself!"
.***AUTHOR'S NOTE***
The "business cycle" is very simple. When the rate of growth in money supply (debt supply) exceeds the rate of growth in the general economy (GDP), the excess "money" has to go somewhere. It creates an illusion of prosperity. Artificial bubbles will form either in housing, stocks, currency, etc. Eventually the market always corrects for these phony excesses and the bubbles burst. (just like the poker game.)
THE WRAPUP
The men leave my place full of hope, grateful that a financial "expert" and a caring leader are in charge of the recovery plan. Incredibly, I have convinced them that it was free enterprise, tomato currency, and limited government (the three main pillars of their original prosperity), that caused their problems.
Instead of seeing my inflationary system, my perpetual interest demands, and the Mayor's out-of-control spending and high taxes as the causes of their lower standard of living, they actually worship Mayor Bulshitz as a savior. Bulshitz gives them all the socialistic "free" goodies that our destructive schemes made unaffordable for them in the first place.
First we crush the owners and the workers of the private economy. Then, Bulshitz rides in like a knight on a white horse, offering welfare schemes to save them.
The simple townfolk never stop to think that were it not for us, they would have the income and capital to take care of themselves!
When Bulshitz runs short of money (as he always does), I'm there to lend it to his office...at interest of course.
Damn I love this job! .
My European colleagues and forefathers have been running this scam for centuries. During this past century, we've been working to diversify our operations to include control of the world's natural resources. Whenever some independent-minded foreign mayor resists our game of Banking & Resource Monopoly, (Iraq, Russia, Venezuela, Iran), our friendly mayors (the "free world") will team up to bring that town back in line (sanctions,UN resolutions, spreading democracy,CIA coups,wars). Perhaps one day we may even merge our operations under a single global umbrella? (New World Order, G-20, Global New Deal, Global Warming scare)
I also play golf with the owners and publishers of the local "liberal" newspaper as well as with those from the "conservative" media. Through my close friendship with them, I am able to influence the editorial and news content of both. It's sort of a "good ole boys" networking thing. As long as they don't expose my operation, I am happy to allow the two parties and their sheeplike followers to amuse themselves with the daily drama of those superficial popularity contests known as "political campaigns." By having the "left" and the "right" beat each other up, the townfolk are kept divided and diverted from my actions. In the end, it is I who wins EVERY election.
My "philanthropic endowments" to Tomatoville University guarantee that my twisted version of economics is taught to the students. Awestruck by my immense wealth and prestige, most, but not all ("Austrian School"), of the economists at "TU" are eating out of my hands. So, when the town folk read The Tomato Street Journal, or hear Professor Pointyhead speak on TV, my false theories are reinforced in their minds.(Keynesian Theory, "Chicago School")
All, except for John - the critical thinker of T-ville. He figures it all out and embarks upon a one man Internet crusade to expose me, calling me a "counterfeiter", "usurer", "insider trader", "warmonger", and "The Shadow Mayor."
My fellow Country Club members from the media convince everyone that John is "paranoid", and an "extremist" who is a mentally unstable "conspiracy theorist" and potential "domestic terrorist." Most of the town folks defend my intellect and character, and disassociate themselves from John. The others are too burned out by the hustle of life to even make the time to study politics and economics. Eventually, John is denied access to The Tomato Street Journal and throws his hands up in frustration.
Tomatoville is deeply in debt in to me because the massive police force and the "safety net" programs (that my destructive monetary schemes necessitated) are very expensive! I've got so much dirt on Mayor Bulshitz, that if he dares to either reintroduce the tomato standard, or if he decides to print interest free currency proportionate to the amount of real goods and services in the town, my newspaper friends and slick TNN anchormen can ruin him.
***AUTHOR'S NOTE***
A typical example of the incestuous old boy's network that exists between the Wall Street, Washington DC, Central Banking, and corporate media elite, is the case of international banker, Eugene Meyer.
WALL STREET: Meyer got his start as an investment banker with the firm of Lazard-Freres. He became a wealthy speculator and earned a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. WASHINGTON: Meyer served as head of the War Finance Corporation under President Woodrow Wilson during World War I. CENTRAL BANKING: President Hoover later named Meyer as Chairman of the Federal Reserve in 1930, which he chaired until 1933. After World War II, President Truman appointed him to head the World Bank. MEDIA:Meyer bought the Washington Post in 1933 (Arguably America's most influential newspaper). The Post also owns Newsweek.
Upon Meyer's death, control of The Post passed to his daughter, Katherine Meyer Graham. Today, The Post is run by Katherine's son, Donald Graham.
Below: "All in the family." The Meyer-Grahams 100 year old influence includes the White House, the FED, The World Bank, The Washington Post, and Newsweek Magazine.
But Mayor Bulshitz, as well as his rivals from the other Party, are all very easy to get along with. Most politicians are just ambitious liars who only care about getting re-elected. My printer helps cover the huge budget deficits generated by their vote-buying welfare schemes and their endless foreign wars. One hand washes the other. It doesn't serve the insatiable ambitions of the local politicians to alienate a well connected "bi-partisan" donor like me.
Every few years, for public show, Mayor Bulshitz gets to nominate a printing "Chairman" from my list of preferred professors. Because of this "dog and pony show", most readers of The Tomato Street Journal believe that the central banking operation is regulated by the Mayor's office. It's not.
In reality, it is a private cartel, owned and operated by my banking associates and me. It is only our cartel that gets to print (or E-mail) the actual money supply, and then inject it at will into the government treasury (FED purchase of T-bills) and banking systems (FED loans to member banks, lower reserve requirements), as we see fit.
Because debt is the actual currency, you can never stay out of debt. The total of all debt and interest owed always exceeds the total money supply.
So you see, this debt based currency system is actually nothing but a massive pyramid scheme. We international banking and media kingpins sit on the top. Our wholly owned politicians, professors, & reporters sit on the levels below. While you worker bees are stuck on the bottom levels - toiling away to perpetually support the crushing weight of our fraudulent structure.
It's like a game of musical chairs, where the number of players always exceeds the amount of chairs. I start and stop the music at my pleasure as you exhaust yourselves running around in circles for my amusement. I stimulate the "booms" (blowing bubbles), and the "busts" (letting some air out), profiting from both.
Now you know the secrets of my success and power. You're probably wondering why I would reveal the truth and indict myself like this. Right?
It's simple. It's because I do not respect you. I know that no matter how badly I screw you, no matter how much I steal from your kids' mouths...you won't do a damn thing about it.
It would never even cross your mind to take the personal initiative to spread this story around to your friends and family. If everyone who read my confession passed it on to 10 others, my game would be up in no time. But I know you won't do that. As long as there is a ballgame or TV show to entertain you, as long as you have a few beers in your refrigerator, I can do or say whatever I want...forever.
Poker at my house, everybody! Who's in?
Mortimer M. Moneybags III
Ever wonder about why our economy is in trouble? How can so many people can be in so much debt at the same time? Does it seem strange to you no matter how hard one works, and in spite of all the advances in society, most hard working people cannot escape the treadmill of perpetual debt?
Why are so many families losing their homes to foreclosure? Why are many households dependent upon credit cards to supplement their income? Why does it take TWO spouses to maintain a household when it used to take just one? Why have so many retirement savings been wiped out? Why do prices always creep up?
Did you know that roughly 1/4 of all income taxes are consumed to pay interest on the Federal Debt? (National Debt currently 12 TRILLION DOLLARS , or about $100,000 per household.) Think about it. Every penny that you pay in income tax from January-April is consumed to pay interest! (*2009 Income Tax revenues: $1.2 Trillion / Interest owed on Debt: $350 Billion) And let's not even talk about the Government's unfunded future liabilities, estimated at 70 TRILLION. (an additional $600,000+ per household.)
Add those staggering sums to your mortgage debt, car loan debt, student loan debt, credit card debt, State debt, County debt, City/Town debt, small business debt, big business debt, and you will see that the total of these debts actually exceeds (BY FAR) the amount of money supply in circulation.
So, how can such astronomical debt ever be repaid? Well, if you haven't figured it out yet - IT CAN'T. The only way to service just the interest on these monstrous debts is to constantly take on new debts.
Finally, on top of all your Federal, State, gasoline, and local taxes, (30% - 40% of your gross income) and on top of your personal debt service burden (another 25%-50%), there's this thing called "inflation", or "the cost of living." What exactly is "the cost of living?" What causes it? Why does a dollar buy less and less each year while wages stay flat?
Is the stress of perpetual debt and rising prices keeping you up at night? How many strokes, heart attacks, and even suicides are induced by financial stress each year? Money and debt may even have led to your drinking problem, or perhaps even to depression. Debt may have been the underlying cause of your divorce or that of some couple that you know.
You know in your gut that something isn't right in this country. But you don't have the "Economics education" to figure it out. It all seems too complicated for you to put your finger on, so you just keep slaving away to pay interest and taxes as your dollar buys less and less. All you can do is keep working like a dog and leave the matter to the Wall Street "experts" and politicians to handle for you.
But it's all quite simple really. So simple in fact, even a dummy can understand it when it is broken down to basic elements.
So then, how exactly did you all become such debt/tax/inflation slaves? Well, I'll let you in on my little secret. You will be amazed at how easy it is to understand.
My name is Mortimer M. Moneybags III and this is the true story of how I bankrupted and enslaved my hometown of Tomatoville, USA:
THE SETUP
One night, Bill, Frank, John, and Mike came over to my place for a friendly game of poker. My four neighbors are all prosperous tomato farmers. Tomatoes actually serve as the currency of Tomatoville, USA.
Before starting, the five of us agree to each put up 10 tomatoes as our "risk capital." That's a total of 50 tomatoes. (Gross Domestic Product - GDP)
Play begins and we realize that trading tomatoes during our bets is awkward. I suggest that we utilize paper notes to represent our tomatoes instead. Because I hold a degree from Harvard, all agree that I should act as "Central Banker".
We place our tomatoes in the center of the table and I print 50 paper notes with the face of Tomatoville's founder on them (corresponding to the 50 total tomatoes, 10 notes for each player). Each paper note therefore represents 1 tomato....simple. (sound money/hard money/gold standard)
As play resumes, I have an unseen advantage over my guests. At 30 minute intervals, I repeatedly excuse myself for a "bathroom break." (Fed Meetings) During this time, I'm actually sneaking into my bedroom and printing up more 1 tomato notes (fiat money).
Upon returning, I gradually gamble and inject ever increasing amounts of notes (liquidity)into the game (the economy). By midnight, the original 50 notes has increased to 500 total notes.
After ebbs and flows, the game was remarkably even at midnight. The five of us, who had each started out with 10 notes apiece, now held 100 notes apiece. But the same 50 tomatoes -the true intrinsic value of the game - (GDP) remain in the jackpot.
Because we are getting so "rich" from the game, I propose that instead of ending the game, we leave everything as is and resume play the following month.
"Why don't you fellows spend some of your Tomato Notes, and save some to invest in next month's play. Tell the shopkeepers that each Tomato Note represents one tomato that is still sitting on this table. They'll accept the Notes as if they were actual tomatoes."
"Great idea Mortimer! The paper is so much more convenient to trade than the tomatoes." replied Mike.
All agree to suspend play and resume next month. Before they leave, I announce that I'm cashing in 20 of my 100 notes in order to make tomato sauce the following day.
At the original ratio of 1 note to 1 tomato, my 20 notes trade for 20 tomatoes. I have doubled my original "investment" of 10 tomatoes (profit taking), and still have 80 paper notes with which to resume the game next month. There are now only 30 total tomatoes remaining on the table.
As I expected, my friends have no intention of cashing in any of their "winnings" because the returns from the game are so high. They each hold 100 notes and really believe that their original 10 tomatoes have yielded a 10 to 1 return from playing the game (Bull Market, irrational exuberance).
When the players explain to the town merchants that the Tomato Notes represent actual tomatoes that are stored at my house, the merchants gladly accept the notes as if they were actual tomatoes. During the ensuing month, the players spend many of their notes and take out various loans as well.
Bill buys his wife a new sports car by putting down 25 Tomato Notes and taking a loan for the balance. (Detroit prospers.)
Frank takes out a small business loan to open up that restaurant he's always dreamed about(job creation).
John puts down a 50 Note down payment and signs a contract for a new home mortgage (housing boom).
Mike spends 40 of his Tomato Notes and also goes on a credit card shopping spree (consumer confidence).
The local bank manager also trusts that the Tomato Note income of the borrowers represents true wealth, so he honestly believes that he is not engaged in risky lending when he lends out his depositors tomatoes to the successful poker winners. (Sub Prime mortgages, No Money Down Mortgages)
The bank then sells some of the loan notes to The Tomato Street investment houses. Blinded by greed, and ignorant of "the big picture", Tomato Street portfolio managers believe that the debts are solid investments for their clients. (secondary market ,mortgage backed securities)
So not only do the four players believe that they are prospering, but the businessmen that are now selling more goods to the wealthy poker players believe that they are earning more Tomatoes also! They too increase their personal spending and borrowing accordingly. (multiplier effect)
Me? I just rub my hands in glee and laugh at how foolish these people are.
The economy of Tomatoville is BOOMING......or so it seems.
THE STING
The Poker players and I meet again at my place and pick up where we left off the month before. After a few hours of more silent note injection, 1000 notes now circulate evenly among the players (200 each). My guests boast among themselves about all the new toys they have recently charged. They aren't worried about the debts they are incurring because, if necessary, they can always cash in their abundant paper notes for tomatos (equity) and pay everything off free and clear.
After a few more hours of play, I decide to trade in 20 more paper notes for 20 more tomatoes (insider trading). My friends ridicule me. "Mortimer! Why would you trade in notes for tomatoes when we are all making so much money?" they ask.
"I just want to lock in some of my winnings now. You never know if fortunes may turn." I replied.
I have now "earned" a total of 40 of the original 50 tomatoes from the table, quadrupling my initial investment. Whereas my scam was not obvious before, my victims now clearly see that the true value of the tomato jackpot has diminished (recession, Bear Market). They each started with 10 tomatoes. So how come they hold hundreds of notes when there are only 10 tomatoes left for the four of them to divide?
Bill panics. "I'm trading in!" he declares. He dumps all 200 of his notes and attempts to grab the remaining 10 tomatoes (stock market crash, bank run)."
Not so fast Bill!" declares Frank. "If you get those remaining tomatoes there will be none left for us!"
"Oh my God! Mortimer! What's happened here?" Mike asks.
My expression turns somber as I reply:
"Damn! I was afraid this might happen. Because we were doing so well, the game "overheated". The Tomato Note fell against the tomato. When that happens, the cost of playing goes up (inflation) and then a contraction occurs (recession). It's a natural cycle."
"So how do we allocate the remaining tomatoes?" John asks.
"Simple." I replied. "It's called currency devaluation. You four each have 200 notes in hand, and I have 160. That's a total of 960 notes in circulation (money supply). There are 10 tomatoes remaining. Divide the 960 notes by the remaining 10 tomatoes and the new cost of a tomato is therefore 96 notes (hyper-inflation). That means that your 200 notes can buy back 2 of the remaining 10 tomatoes for each of you."
The paper Tomato Note currency has lost its purchasing power (inflation, bubble bursting) and my 4 neighbors have each lost 8 of the original 10 tomatoes they had once owned. I walk away with 42 of the original 50 tomatoes. (real wealth)
***AUTHOR'S NOTE***
If the players had added 950 tomatoes to the original 50 (GDP growth), there could be no bubble and the Tomato Note would have retained its 1-1 value. (1000 notes / 1000 tomatoes) In any monetary system, increased production serves to make a currency stronger. But Mortimer could still have debased the currency by printing up even more notes and then being the first one to "cash out." In bubble economics the first sellers to get out of the game (stock market, real estate market etc), will profit unfairly by receiving inflated "fake" value for their stocks, homes, currency etc. When the game then adjusts to the burst bubble value, the remaining sellers get less. (Examples: Investors who sold their stocks when the Dow Jones was at 14,000. Homeowners who sold in 2006 at the peak of the real estate bubble. Investors who in 2007 exchanged US dollars for gold or other hard commodities.)
An honest money system keeps the growth of money supply proportionate to the growth of goods and services (GDP) for a 1-1 ratio. (no inflation / no deflation) But when money is printed "out of thin air" (as opposed to gold or silver which have intrinsic value due to rarity and beauty ) Mortimer is always ahead of the players, especially when he starts lending notes to the Mayor and local bank, at interest. When that happens, all of Tomatoville becomes Mortimer's poker game.
But the real problem is that the four suckers, believing they were "wealthy", had charged up a lifestyle that they can no longer sustain.
That car Bill bought for his wife? Can you say "Repo Man?"
Franks new restaurant? The chefs and some waiters will have to be laid off (increased unemployment).
Mike's credit card bills? Soon to be delinquent and destroying his credit rating. (credit crunch, local Bank losses)
John's new home? Foreclosure, followed by divorce (housing slump).
The merchants who had sold or loaned to them will also be negatively affected. Anyone who had dealings with the free spending Poker players is also holding devalued notes and possibly carrying bad debts. The artificial debt & inflation prosperity had spread like viruses, and now the malinvestment balloon has to painfully deflate.
The bewildered and frightened town folk don't understand how this happened. Because of my Ivy League credentials, coupled with the fact that I have accumulated so much wealth, they look to me for expert advice and answers.
I explain to them that we are in a liquidity crisis:
"Friends! This is part of the natural business cycle. Sure, you have suffered a short term loss, but in the long term we all come out OK as the markets recover. You saw how much wealth you had earned. If you get out of the game you'll be locking in your losses."
"The market has hit bottom. Truth be told, you guys helped create this mess yourselves with your reckless consumer borrowing, and the local bank should have known better than to lend its depositors tomatoes out so carelessly. (blaming the symptoms, instead of the cause) This is the problem with free market capitalism sometimes."
"I will advise Mayor Bulshitz to institute new legislation, a huge stimulus package, and more regulation over private enterprise (New Deal). We shall create a social safety net in order to protect you from future naturally occurring business cycles." (Great Society, War on Poverty)
"Greedy CEO's, town's shopkeepers, and your employers created this mess and it must never happen again. (class warfare) We will impose strict price controls to fight the inflation that the greedy , price-gouging shopkeepers caused."
"We will tax the rich! (Federal Income Tax, established in 1913) Free health care! Free education! (socialism) Liberty! Equality! Fraternity! Change we can believe in! Hope! Yes we can! Workers unite! You have nothing to lose but the chains which bind you!"
"Don't worry about the town's Constitution. It's an outdated document written by a bunch of dead white guys. If we are to fix this mess, then we must ignore its limitations on progressive government action."
***AUTHOR'S NOTE***
To feed the insatiable debt monster, and to maintain confidence in his notes, Mortimer must have a perpetually growing GDP (more tomatoes). If not, runaway debt and inflation will cause the economy to implode sooner, rather than later. GDP growth is fueled by "consumer spending"(consumption) and the constant borrowing which enables it. This is why economists, politicians, and other assorted lunatics are so obsessed with constant GDP growth.
.
.
"The tomato must no longer serve as the backing for our currency. To meet the liquidity needs of our new system, it is imperative that we get this town off of that antiquated, "barbaric fruit" Standard (hard money) and transition to my expertly managed paper currency." (fiat money)
"As far as the poker markets go, now is the time to play even more aggressively (buy low). We'll meet again next month. In the meantime, work harder and bring more tomatoes to the next game, I'll print more notes to increase liquidity and induce the banks to loosen up credit once again. (pump priming)
"If the local banks need to make more loans, I'll lower their reserve requirements so that they can lend (create) money that they don't have. As long as too many depositors don't make withdrawals all at the same time, like you fellows did in our poker game, they'll be none the wiser." (fractional reserve banking)
Even if there is a bank run, or if the bank's loan demand exceeds it's reserve requirement, I'll act as the "lender of last resort" (Federal Reserve, established in 1913) and lend (create money for) to the local bank at interest (Bank takeover, Discount Window).
I will also lend to (create money for) the Mayor's office (Open Market Operations, purchase of T-Bills, stimulus) , and bail out (create money for) the Tomato Street Brokerage houses that I deem to be "too big to fail" (Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan bailout package).
I continue: "Finally, I will organize an emergency meeting of the Mayors, Finance Ministers, and Note Printers of the European towns (G-20, "world stage"). Now is not the time for isolationism. (independence, sovereignty) Global problems demand global solutions! (IMF, World Bank, WTO, UN)."
"We will recover. So keep spending, secure in the knowledge that the best and the brightest of the world community are on the job. We have nothing to fear but fear itself!"
.***AUTHOR'S NOTE***
The "business cycle" is very simple. When the rate of growth in money supply (debt supply) exceeds the rate of growth in the general economy (GDP), the excess "money" has to go somewhere. It creates an illusion of prosperity. Artificial bubbles will form either in housing, stocks, currency, etc. Eventually the market always corrects for these phony excesses and the bubbles burst. (just like the poker game.)
THE WRAPUP
The men leave my place full of hope, grateful that a financial "expert" and a caring leader are in charge of the recovery plan. Incredibly, I have convinced them that it was free enterprise, tomato currency, and limited government (the three main pillars of their original prosperity), that caused their problems.
Instead of seeing my inflationary system, my perpetual interest demands, and the Mayor's out-of-control spending and high taxes as the causes of their lower standard of living, they actually worship Mayor Bulshitz as a savior. Bulshitz gives them all the socialistic "free" goodies that our destructive schemes made unaffordable for them in the first place.
First we crush the owners and the workers of the private economy. Then, Bulshitz rides in like a knight on a white horse, offering welfare schemes to save them.
The simple townfolk never stop to think that were it not for us, they would have the income and capital to take care of themselves!
When Bulshitz runs short of money (as he always does), I'm there to lend it to his office...at interest of course.
Damn I love this job! .
My European colleagues and forefathers have been running this scam for centuries. During this past century, we've been working to diversify our operations to include control of the world's natural resources. Whenever some independent-minded foreign mayor resists our game of Banking & Resource Monopoly, (Iraq, Russia, Venezuela, Iran), our friendly mayors (the "free world") will team up to bring that town back in line (sanctions,UN resolutions, spreading democracy,CIA coups,wars). Perhaps one day we may even merge our operations under a single global umbrella? (New World Order, G-20, Global New Deal, Global Warming scare)
I also play golf with the owners and publishers of the local "liberal" newspaper as well as with those from the "conservative" media. Through my close friendship with them, I am able to influence the editorial and news content of both. It's sort of a "good ole boys" networking thing. As long as they don't expose my operation, I am happy to allow the two parties and their sheeplike followers to amuse themselves with the daily drama of those superficial popularity contests known as "political campaigns." By having the "left" and the "right" beat each other up, the townfolk are kept divided and diverted from my actions. In the end, it is I who wins EVERY election.
My "philanthropic endowments" to Tomatoville University guarantee that my twisted version of economics is taught to the students. Awestruck by my immense wealth and prestige, most, but not all ("Austrian School"), of the economists at "TU" are eating out of my hands. So, when the town folk read The Tomato Street Journal, or hear Professor Pointyhead speak on TV, my false theories are reinforced in their minds.(Keynesian Theory, "Chicago School")
All, except for John - the critical thinker of T-ville. He figures it all out and embarks upon a one man Internet crusade to expose me, calling me a "counterfeiter", "usurer", "insider trader", "warmonger", and "The Shadow Mayor."
My fellow Country Club members from the media convince everyone that John is "paranoid", and an "extremist" who is a mentally unstable "conspiracy theorist" and potential "domestic terrorist." Most of the town folks defend my intellect and character, and disassociate themselves from John. The others are too burned out by the hustle of life to even make the time to study politics and economics. Eventually, John is denied access to The Tomato Street Journal and throws his hands up in frustration.
Tomatoville is deeply in debt in to me because the massive police force and the "safety net" programs (that my destructive monetary schemes necessitated) are very expensive! I've got so much dirt on Mayor Bulshitz, that if he dares to either reintroduce the tomato standard, or if he decides to print interest free currency proportionate to the amount of real goods and services in the town, my newspaper friends and slick TNN anchormen can ruin him.
***AUTHOR'S NOTE***
A typical example of the incestuous old boy's network that exists between the Wall Street, Washington DC, Central Banking, and corporate media elite, is the case of international banker, Eugene Meyer.
WALL STREET: Meyer got his start as an investment banker with the firm of Lazard-Freres. He became a wealthy speculator and earned a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. WASHINGTON: Meyer served as head of the War Finance Corporation under President Woodrow Wilson during World War I. CENTRAL BANKING: President Hoover later named Meyer as Chairman of the Federal Reserve in 1930, which he chaired until 1933. After World War II, President Truman appointed him to head the World Bank. MEDIA:Meyer bought the Washington Post in 1933 (Arguably America's most influential newspaper). The Post also owns Newsweek.
Upon Meyer's death, control of The Post passed to his daughter, Katherine Meyer Graham. Today, The Post is run by Katherine's son, Donald Graham.
Below: "All in the family." The Meyer-Grahams 100 year old influence includes the White House, the FED, The World Bank, The Washington Post, and Newsweek Magazine.
But Mayor Bulshitz, as well as his rivals from the other Party, are all very easy to get along with. Most politicians are just ambitious liars who only care about getting re-elected. My printer helps cover the huge budget deficits generated by their vote-buying welfare schemes and their endless foreign wars. One hand washes the other. It doesn't serve the insatiable ambitions of the local politicians to alienate a well connected "bi-partisan" donor like me.
Every few years, for public show, Mayor Bulshitz gets to nominate a printing "Chairman" from my list of preferred professors. Because of this "dog and pony show", most readers of The Tomato Street Journal believe that the central banking operation is regulated by the Mayor's office. It's not.
In reality, it is a private cartel, owned and operated by my banking associates and me. It is only our cartel that gets to print (or E-mail) the actual money supply, and then inject it at will into the government treasury (FED purchase of T-bills) and banking systems (FED loans to member banks, lower reserve requirements), as we see fit.
Because debt is the actual currency, you can never stay out of debt. The total of all debt and interest owed always exceeds the total money supply.
So you see, this debt based currency system is actually nothing but a massive pyramid scheme. We international banking and media kingpins sit on the top. Our wholly owned politicians, professors, & reporters sit on the levels below. While you worker bees are stuck on the bottom levels - toiling away to perpetually support the crushing weight of our fraudulent structure.
It's like a game of musical chairs, where the number of players always exceeds the amount of chairs. I start and stop the music at my pleasure as you exhaust yourselves running around in circles for my amusement. I stimulate the "booms" (blowing bubbles), and the "busts" (letting some air out), profiting from both.
Now you know the secrets of my success and power. You're probably wondering why I would reveal the truth and indict myself like this. Right?
It's simple. It's because I do not respect you. I know that no matter how badly I screw you, no matter how much I steal from your kids' mouths...you won't do a damn thing about it.
It would never even cross your mind to take the personal initiative to spread this story around to your friends and family. If everyone who read my confession passed it on to 10 others, my game would be up in no time. But I know you won't do that. As long as there is a ballgame or TV show to entertain you, as long as you have a few beers in your refrigerator, I can do or say whatever I want...forever.
Poker at my house, everybody! Who's in?
Mortimer M. Moneybags III
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Happy Juneteeth!
By Frances Rice
As we celebrate Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, it is fitting that we pause to recognize the origin of this important part of our African American heritage.
June 19th marks the day in 1865 when word reached blacks in Texas that slavery in the United States had been abolished. More than two years earlier, on January 1, 1863, Republican President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Delivered during the American Civil War, this proclamation ordered the freeing of all slaves in states that were rebelling against Union forces. The proclamation had little effect in Texas, where there were few Union troops to enforce the order.
News of the proclamation officially reached Texas on June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger, backed by nearly 2,000 troops, arrived in the city of Galveston and publicly announced that slavery in the United States had ended. Republicans had passed the Thirteenth Amendment on January 31, 1865 that was ratified on December 6, 1865 to abolish slavery in the United States.
Reactions among newly freed slaves ranged from shock and disbelief to jubilant celebration. That day has been known ever since as Juneteenth, a name probably derived from the slang combination of the words June and nineteenth.
Juneteenth commemorations began in Texas in 1866. Within a few years they had spread to other states and became an annual tradition, celebrating freedom for blacks in addition to many other themes, including education, self-improvement, African American accomplishments throughout history, and tolerance and respect for all cultures.
The racial divisiveness prevalent today would not exist if the Democrats in control of the Southern states had left African Americans alone at the moment in history when blacks were freed from slavery and the Juneteenth celebrations began. Instead Democrats set for themselves the horrendous task of keeping blacks in virtual slavery.
Southern Democrats passed discriminatory Black Codes in 1865 to suppress, restrict, and deny blacks the same privileges as whites. The Codes forced blacks to serve as apprentices to their former slave masters.
In 1866, the Ku Klux Klan was started by Democrats to lynch and terrorize Republicans, black and white, and the Ku Klux Klan became the terrorist arm of the Democratic Party.
To counter the discriminatory and terrorizing actions by Democrats, Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Reconstruction Act of 1867 that was designed to establish a new government system in the Democrat-controlled South, one that was fair to blacks.
Further, the Fourteenth Amendment pushed by Republicans was ratified in1868 that granted blacks citizenship. The Fifteenth Amendment also pushed by Republicans was ratified in 1870 that granted blacks the right to vote.
Undaunted, Democrats passed discriminatory Jim Crow Laws in 1875 to restrict the rights of blacks to use public facilities. In response, Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875 which prohibited racial discrimination in public facilities.
Shamefully, Democrats fought against anti-lynching laws, and when the Democrats regained control of Congress in 1892, they passed the Repeal Act of 1894 that overturned civil right laws enacted by Republicans. Further, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Democrats and issued a ruling in the case of "Plessy v. Ferguson" in 1896 that established the "separate but equal" doctrine. That opinion stated that it was not a violation of the Constitution to have separate facilities for blacks. It took Republicans nearly six decades to finally get the civil rights laws of the 1950's and 1960's passed over the objection of the Democrats.
To advance civil rights for blacks, Republicans started the NAACP on February 12, 1909, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. The first black head of the NAACP was black Republican James Weldon Johnson who became general secretary in 1920 and wrote the lyrics to the song "Lift Every Voice and Sing". Republicans also founded the HBCU's (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) because Democrats were trying to prevent blacks from getting a good education.
During the civil rights era of the 1960's, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fought to stop Democrats from denying civil rights to blacks. It should come as no surprise that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a Republican as has been affirmed by his niece, Dr. Alveda C. King in a video posted on YouTube.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would not have joined the Democratic Party, the party of the Ku Klux Klan and segregation.
Dr. King fought against Democrat Public Safety Commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor in Birmingham who let loose vicious dogs and turned skin-burning fire hoses on black civil rights demonstrators.
Democrat Georgia Governor Lester Maddox famously brandished ax handles to prevent blacks from patronizing his restaurant. Democrat Alabama Governor George Wallace stood in front of the Alabama schoolhouse in 1963 and thundered, "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." All of these racist Democrats remained Democrats until the day they died.
The so-called "Dixiecrats" remained Democrats and did not migrate to the Republican Party. The Dixiecrats were a group of Southern Democrats who, in the 1948 national election, ran a third party ticket that supported segregation and Jim Crow laws passed by Democrats. Even so, they continued to be Democrats for all local and state elections, as well as for all future national elections.
Unknown today is the fact that the Democratic Party supported the Topeka, Kansas school board in the 1954 "Brown v. Topeka Board of Education" Supreme Court decision by Chief Justice Earl Warren who was appointed by Republican President Dwight Eisenhower. This landmark decision declared that the "separate but equal" doctrine violated the 14th Amendment and ended school segregation.
After the Brown decision, Democrat Arkansas Governor Orville Faubus tried to prevent desegregation of a Little Rock public school. President Eisenhower sent troops to Arkansas to desegregate the schools and pushed through the 1957 Civil Rights Act. In 1958, Eisenhower established a permanent US Civil Rights Commission that had been rejected by prior Democrat presidents, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Ignored today is the fact that it was Roosevelt who started blacks on the path to dependency on government handouts during the Great Depression with his "New Deal" that turned out to be a bad deal for blacks. Even though Roosevelt received the vote of many blacks, Roosevelt banned black American newspapers from the military because he was convinced the newspapers were communists.
Much is made of Democrat President Harry Truman's issuing an Executive Order in 1948 to desegregate the military. Not mentioned is the fact that it was Eisenhower who actually took action to effectively end segregation in the military.
Little known is the fact that it was Republican Senator Everett Dirksen from Illinois, not Democrat President Lyndon Johnson, who pushed through the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act. In fact, Dirksen was instrumental in the passage of civil rights legislation in 1957, 1960, 1964, 1965 and 1968. The chief opponents of the 1964 Civil Rights Act were Democrat Senators Sam Ervin, Albert Gore, Sr. and Robert Byrd, a former official in the Ku Klux Klan who is still in Congress. None of these racist Democrats became Republicans.
Democrats ignore the pivotal role played by Senator Dirksen in obtaining passage of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act, while heralding President Johnson as a civil rights advocate for signing the bill.
Notably, in his 4,500-word State of the Union Address delivered on January 4, 1965, Johnson mentioned scores of topics for federal action, but only thirty five words were devoted to civil rights. He did not mention one word about voting rights. Information about Johnson's anemic civil rights policy positions can be found in the "Public Papers of the President, Lyndon B. Johnson," 1965, vol. 1, p.1-9..
In their campaign to unfairly paint the Republican Party today as racists, Democrats point to President Johnson's prediction that there would be an exodus from the Democratic Party because of Johnson's signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Omitted from the Democrats' rewritten history is what Johnson actually meant by his prediction. Johnson's statement was not made out of a concern that racist Democrats would suddenly join the Republican Party that was fighting for the civil rights of blacks. Instead, Johnson feared that the racist Democrats would again form a third party, such as the short-lived States Rights Democratic Party. In fact, Alabama's Democrat Governor George C. Wallace in 1968 started the American Independent Party that attracted other racist candidates, including Democrat Atlanta Mayor (later Governor of Georgia) Lester Maddox.
Democrat President John F. Kennedy is also lauded as a civil rights advocate. In reality, Kennedy voted against the 1957 Civil rights Act while he was a senator. After he became president, John F. Kennedy opposed the 1963 March on Washington by Dr. King that was organized by A. Phillip Randolph who was a black Republican.
President Kennedy, through his brother Attorney General Robert Kennedy, had Dr. King wiretapped and investigated by the FBI on suspicion of being a Communist in order to undermine Dr. King. To his credit, Republican President Ronald Reagan made Dr. King's birthday a federal holiday, ignoring how the Democrats had smeared Dr. King.
Democrats denounced Senator Trent Lott for his remarks about Senator Strom Thurmond. However, there was silence when Democrat Senator Christopher Dodd praised Senator Byrd, a former official in the Ku Klux Klan, as someone who would have been "a great senator for any moment." Senator Thurmond was never in the Ku Klux Klan and, after he became a Republican, Thurmond defended blacks against lynching and the discriminatory poll taxes imposed on blacks by Democrats.
Democrats today castigate Republican Senator Barry Goldwater as anti-black. However a review of Senator Barry Goldwater's record shows that he was a Libertarian, not a racist. Goldwater was a member of the Arizona NAACP and was involved in desegregating the Arizona National Guard.
Goldwater also supported the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the Civil Rights Act of 1960, as well as the constitutional amendment banning the poll tax. His opposition to the more comprehensive Civil Rights Act of 1964 was based on his libertarian views about government. Goldwater believed that the 1964 Act, as written, unconstitutionally extended the federal government's commerce power to private citizens, furthering the government's efforts to "legislate morality" and restrict the rights of employers.
It is instructive to read the entire text of Goldwater's 1964 speech at the 28th Republican National Convention, accepting the nomination for president that is available from the Arizona Historical Foundation. By the end of his career, Goldwater was one of the most respected members of either party and was considered a stabilizing influence in the Senate. Senator Goldwater's speech may be found also on the Internet.
In the arsenal of the Democrats is a condemnation of Republican President Richard Nixon for his so-called "Southern Strategy." These same Democrats expressed no concern when the racially segregated South voted solidly for Democrats for over 100 years, yet unfairly deride Republicans because of the thirty-year odyssey of the South switching to the Republican Party that began in the 1970's. Nixon's "Southern Strategy" was an effort on his part to get fair-minded people in the South to stop voting for Democrats who did not share their values and were discriminating against blacks. Georgia did not switch until 2004, and Louisiana was controlled by Democrats until the election of Republican Governor Bobby Jindal in 2007.
As the co-architect of Nixon's "Southern Strategy", Pat Buchanan provided a first-hand account of the origin and intent of that strategy in a 2002 article that can be found on the Internet.
In that article, Buchanan wrote that when Nixon kicked off his historic comeback in 1966 with a column about the South (written by Buchanan), Nixon declared that the Republican Party would be built on a foundation of states rights, human rights, small government and a strong national defense, and leave it to the "party of Maddox, Mahoney and Wallace to squeeze the last ounce of political juice out of the rotting fruit of racial injustice."
During the 1966 campaign, Nixon was personally thanked by Dr. King for his help in passing the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Nixon also endorsed all Republicans, except the members of the John Birch Society.
Notably, the enforcement of affirmative action began with Richard Nixon's 1969 Philadelphia Plan (crafted by black Republican Art Fletcher who became know as "the father of affirmative action enforcement") that set the nation's first goals and timetables. Nixon was also responsible for the passage of civil rights legislation in the 1970's.
Fletcher, as president of the United Negro College Fund, coined the phrase "the mind is a terrible thing to waste." Fletcher was also one of the original nine plaintiffs in the famous "Brown v. Topeka Board of Education" decision. Fletcher briefly pursued a bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 1995.
Nixon began his merit-based affirmative action program to overcome the harm caused by Democrat President Woodrow Wilson who, after he was elected in 1912, kicked blacks out of federal government jobs and prevented blacks from obtaining federal contracts. Also, while Wilson was president and Congress was controlled by the Democrats, more discriminatory bills were introduced in Congress than ever before in our nation's history. Today, Democrats have turned affirmative action into an unfair quota system that even most blacks do not support.
For more details on the true history of civil rights please read the book "Blacks, Whites and Racist Democrats: The Untold History of Race and Politics within the Democratic Party from 1792-2009" by Wayne Perryman.
Just as Democrats built their economic power base on the backs of poor blacks during the time of slavery, Democrats today have built their political power base on the backs of poor blacks today.
As author Michael Scheuer stated, the Democratic Party is the party of the four S's: slavery, secession, segregation and now socialism.
Democrats have been running black communities for the past 40 years, and the socialist policies of the Democrats have destroyed the economic and social fabric of black communities. A wise man once wrote that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
It is way past time for blacks to end their unfounded loyalty to the Democratic Party, stop having their vote taken for granted and seize control over their own destiny.
Only then will blacks be truly free.
As we celebrate Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, it is fitting that we pause to recognize the origin of this important part of our African American heritage.
June 19th marks the day in 1865 when word reached blacks in Texas that slavery in the United States had been abolished. More than two years earlier, on January 1, 1863, Republican President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Delivered during the American Civil War, this proclamation ordered the freeing of all slaves in states that were rebelling against Union forces. The proclamation had little effect in Texas, where there were few Union troops to enforce the order.
News of the proclamation officially reached Texas on June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger, backed by nearly 2,000 troops, arrived in the city of Galveston and publicly announced that slavery in the United States had ended. Republicans had passed the Thirteenth Amendment on January 31, 1865 that was ratified on December 6, 1865 to abolish slavery in the United States.
Reactions among newly freed slaves ranged from shock and disbelief to jubilant celebration. That day has been known ever since as Juneteenth, a name probably derived from the slang combination of the words June and nineteenth.
Juneteenth commemorations began in Texas in 1866. Within a few years they had spread to other states and became an annual tradition, celebrating freedom for blacks in addition to many other themes, including education, self-improvement, African American accomplishments throughout history, and tolerance and respect for all cultures.
The racial divisiveness prevalent today would not exist if the Democrats in control of the Southern states had left African Americans alone at the moment in history when blacks were freed from slavery and the Juneteenth celebrations began. Instead Democrats set for themselves the horrendous task of keeping blacks in virtual slavery.
Southern Democrats passed discriminatory Black Codes in 1865 to suppress, restrict, and deny blacks the same privileges as whites. The Codes forced blacks to serve as apprentices to their former slave masters.
In 1866, the Ku Klux Klan was started by Democrats to lynch and terrorize Republicans, black and white, and the Ku Klux Klan became the terrorist arm of the Democratic Party.
To counter the discriminatory and terrorizing actions by Democrats, Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Reconstruction Act of 1867 that was designed to establish a new government system in the Democrat-controlled South, one that was fair to blacks.
Further, the Fourteenth Amendment pushed by Republicans was ratified in1868 that granted blacks citizenship. The Fifteenth Amendment also pushed by Republicans was ratified in 1870 that granted blacks the right to vote.
Undaunted, Democrats passed discriminatory Jim Crow Laws in 1875 to restrict the rights of blacks to use public facilities. In response, Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875 which prohibited racial discrimination in public facilities.
Shamefully, Democrats fought against anti-lynching laws, and when the Democrats regained control of Congress in 1892, they passed the Repeal Act of 1894 that overturned civil right laws enacted by Republicans. Further, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Democrats and issued a ruling in the case of "Plessy v. Ferguson" in 1896 that established the "separate but equal" doctrine. That opinion stated that it was not a violation of the Constitution to have separate facilities for blacks. It took Republicans nearly six decades to finally get the civil rights laws of the 1950's and 1960's passed over the objection of the Democrats.
To advance civil rights for blacks, Republicans started the NAACP on February 12, 1909, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. The first black head of the NAACP was black Republican James Weldon Johnson who became general secretary in 1920 and wrote the lyrics to the song "Lift Every Voice and Sing". Republicans also founded the HBCU's (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) because Democrats were trying to prevent blacks from getting a good education.
During the civil rights era of the 1960's, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fought to stop Democrats from denying civil rights to blacks. It should come as no surprise that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a Republican as has been affirmed by his niece, Dr. Alveda C. King in a video posted on YouTube.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would not have joined the Democratic Party, the party of the Ku Klux Klan and segregation.
Dr. King fought against Democrat Public Safety Commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor in Birmingham who let loose vicious dogs and turned skin-burning fire hoses on black civil rights demonstrators.
Democrat Georgia Governor Lester Maddox famously brandished ax handles to prevent blacks from patronizing his restaurant. Democrat Alabama Governor George Wallace stood in front of the Alabama schoolhouse in 1963 and thundered, "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." All of these racist Democrats remained Democrats until the day they died.
The so-called "Dixiecrats" remained Democrats and did not migrate to the Republican Party. The Dixiecrats were a group of Southern Democrats who, in the 1948 national election, ran a third party ticket that supported segregation and Jim Crow laws passed by Democrats. Even so, they continued to be Democrats for all local and state elections, as well as for all future national elections.
Unknown today is the fact that the Democratic Party supported the Topeka, Kansas school board in the 1954 "Brown v. Topeka Board of Education" Supreme Court decision by Chief Justice Earl Warren who was appointed by Republican President Dwight Eisenhower. This landmark decision declared that the "separate but equal" doctrine violated the 14th Amendment and ended school segregation.
After the Brown decision, Democrat Arkansas Governor Orville Faubus tried to prevent desegregation of a Little Rock public school. President Eisenhower sent troops to Arkansas to desegregate the schools and pushed through the 1957 Civil Rights Act. In 1958, Eisenhower established a permanent US Civil Rights Commission that had been rejected by prior Democrat presidents, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Ignored today is the fact that it was Roosevelt who started blacks on the path to dependency on government handouts during the Great Depression with his "New Deal" that turned out to be a bad deal for blacks. Even though Roosevelt received the vote of many blacks, Roosevelt banned black American newspapers from the military because he was convinced the newspapers were communists.
Much is made of Democrat President Harry Truman's issuing an Executive Order in 1948 to desegregate the military. Not mentioned is the fact that it was Eisenhower who actually took action to effectively end segregation in the military.
Little known is the fact that it was Republican Senator Everett Dirksen from Illinois, not Democrat President Lyndon Johnson, who pushed through the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act. In fact, Dirksen was instrumental in the passage of civil rights legislation in 1957, 1960, 1964, 1965 and 1968. The chief opponents of the 1964 Civil Rights Act were Democrat Senators Sam Ervin, Albert Gore, Sr. and Robert Byrd, a former official in the Ku Klux Klan who is still in Congress. None of these racist Democrats became Republicans.
Democrats ignore the pivotal role played by Senator Dirksen in obtaining passage of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act, while heralding President Johnson as a civil rights advocate for signing the bill.
Notably, in his 4,500-word State of the Union Address delivered on January 4, 1965, Johnson mentioned scores of topics for federal action, but only thirty five words were devoted to civil rights. He did not mention one word about voting rights. Information about Johnson's anemic civil rights policy positions can be found in the "Public Papers of the President, Lyndon B. Johnson," 1965, vol. 1, p.1-9..
In their campaign to unfairly paint the Republican Party today as racists, Democrats point to President Johnson's prediction that there would be an exodus from the Democratic Party because of Johnson's signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Omitted from the Democrats' rewritten history is what Johnson actually meant by his prediction. Johnson's statement was not made out of a concern that racist Democrats would suddenly join the Republican Party that was fighting for the civil rights of blacks. Instead, Johnson feared that the racist Democrats would again form a third party, such as the short-lived States Rights Democratic Party. In fact, Alabama's Democrat Governor George C. Wallace in 1968 started the American Independent Party that attracted other racist candidates, including Democrat Atlanta Mayor (later Governor of Georgia) Lester Maddox.
Democrat President John F. Kennedy is also lauded as a civil rights advocate. In reality, Kennedy voted against the 1957 Civil rights Act while he was a senator. After he became president, John F. Kennedy opposed the 1963 March on Washington by Dr. King that was organized by A. Phillip Randolph who was a black Republican.
President Kennedy, through his brother Attorney General Robert Kennedy, had Dr. King wiretapped and investigated by the FBI on suspicion of being a Communist in order to undermine Dr. King. To his credit, Republican President Ronald Reagan made Dr. King's birthday a federal holiday, ignoring how the Democrats had smeared Dr. King.
Democrats denounced Senator Trent Lott for his remarks about Senator Strom Thurmond. However, there was silence when Democrat Senator Christopher Dodd praised Senator Byrd, a former official in the Ku Klux Klan, as someone who would have been "a great senator for any moment." Senator Thurmond was never in the Ku Klux Klan and, after he became a Republican, Thurmond defended blacks against lynching and the discriminatory poll taxes imposed on blacks by Democrats.
Democrats today castigate Republican Senator Barry Goldwater as anti-black. However a review of Senator Barry Goldwater's record shows that he was a Libertarian, not a racist. Goldwater was a member of the Arizona NAACP and was involved in desegregating the Arizona National Guard.
Goldwater also supported the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the Civil Rights Act of 1960, as well as the constitutional amendment banning the poll tax. His opposition to the more comprehensive Civil Rights Act of 1964 was based on his libertarian views about government. Goldwater believed that the 1964 Act, as written, unconstitutionally extended the federal government's commerce power to private citizens, furthering the government's efforts to "legislate morality" and restrict the rights of employers.
It is instructive to read the entire text of Goldwater's 1964 speech at the 28th Republican National Convention, accepting the nomination for president that is available from the Arizona Historical Foundation. By the end of his career, Goldwater was one of the most respected members of either party and was considered a stabilizing influence in the Senate. Senator Goldwater's speech may be found also on the Internet.
In the arsenal of the Democrats is a condemnation of Republican President Richard Nixon for his so-called "Southern Strategy." These same Democrats expressed no concern when the racially segregated South voted solidly for Democrats for over 100 years, yet unfairly deride Republicans because of the thirty-year odyssey of the South switching to the Republican Party that began in the 1970's. Nixon's "Southern Strategy" was an effort on his part to get fair-minded people in the South to stop voting for Democrats who did not share their values and were discriminating against blacks. Georgia did not switch until 2004, and Louisiana was controlled by Democrats until the election of Republican Governor Bobby Jindal in 2007.
As the co-architect of Nixon's "Southern Strategy", Pat Buchanan provided a first-hand account of the origin and intent of that strategy in a 2002 article that can be found on the Internet.
In that article, Buchanan wrote that when Nixon kicked off his historic comeback in 1966 with a column about the South (written by Buchanan), Nixon declared that the Republican Party would be built on a foundation of states rights, human rights, small government and a strong national defense, and leave it to the "party of Maddox, Mahoney and Wallace to squeeze the last ounce of political juice out of the rotting fruit of racial injustice."
During the 1966 campaign, Nixon was personally thanked by Dr. King for his help in passing the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Nixon also endorsed all Republicans, except the members of the John Birch Society.
Notably, the enforcement of affirmative action began with Richard Nixon's 1969 Philadelphia Plan (crafted by black Republican Art Fletcher who became know as "the father of affirmative action enforcement") that set the nation's first goals and timetables. Nixon was also responsible for the passage of civil rights legislation in the 1970's.
Fletcher, as president of the United Negro College Fund, coined the phrase "the mind is a terrible thing to waste." Fletcher was also one of the original nine plaintiffs in the famous "Brown v. Topeka Board of Education" decision. Fletcher briefly pursued a bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 1995.
Nixon began his merit-based affirmative action program to overcome the harm caused by Democrat President Woodrow Wilson who, after he was elected in 1912, kicked blacks out of federal government jobs and prevented blacks from obtaining federal contracts. Also, while Wilson was president and Congress was controlled by the Democrats, more discriminatory bills were introduced in Congress than ever before in our nation's history. Today, Democrats have turned affirmative action into an unfair quota system that even most blacks do not support.
For more details on the true history of civil rights please read the book "Blacks, Whites and Racist Democrats: The Untold History of Race and Politics within the Democratic Party from 1792-2009" by Wayne Perryman.
Just as Democrats built their economic power base on the backs of poor blacks during the time of slavery, Democrats today have built their political power base on the backs of poor blacks today.
As author Michael Scheuer stated, the Democratic Party is the party of the four S's: slavery, secession, segregation and now socialism.
Democrats have been running black communities for the past 40 years, and the socialist policies of the Democrats have destroyed the economic and social fabric of black communities. A wise man once wrote that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
It is way past time for blacks to end their unfounded loyalty to the Democratic Party, stop having their vote taken for granted and seize control over their own destiny.
Only then will blacks be truly free.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Cronyism By Michael Beitler
Cronyism
By Michael Beitler
Perhaps the biggest problem in America today is cronyism. Cronyism is big business in bed with big government. Big businesses buy influence through their campaign contributions, including political action committee (PAC) contributions.
Small business owners and entrepreneurs do not have the money to hire professional lobbyists or to fund a PAC. Big businesses have the money to hire professional lobbyists and to fund PACs. The professional lobbyists hired by big businesses work to pass burdensome regulations to crush smaller competitors. The big business PACs make contributions to political candidates (mostly incumbents) in exchange for favors.
Lobbying for big business has become a big business itself. One look at K Street in Washington, DC will give you an indication of the extent of this form of corruption. Some of these lobbyists are the most powerful people in Washington.
It is common knowledge in politics that PACs only contribute to incumbents. Of course, an exception will be made if a well-funded opponent has the financial clout to beat the incumbent. The exception is made because the ultimate goal is not to help any particular candidate but to buy influence.
Cronyism is not new. Eisenhower warned America about a developing military-industrial complex. Daniel Guérin's 1936 book, "Fascism and Big Business" was about fascist governments and their corrupt relationships with big business.
Robert Bradley's recent book, "Capitalism at Work" (2009), contains descriptions of how powerful individuals and corporations have mastered the skills of cronyism. Ken Lay of Enron was widely recognized (and praised) as a world-class player. Ken Lay wrote the playbook for others to follow.
Go to www.fec.gov and look at the list of PAC contributions to incumbents in your state. It is not hard to understand why incumbents have an advantage over their opponents. It is equally clear why the PACs make these contributions.
Let me conclude with a pet peeve. There is no such thing as "crony capitalism." Cronyism and capitalism are complete opposites. Capitalism, the economic/political system upon which America was built, is based on free markets; cronyism is based on buying influence to control markets. The term "cronyism capitalism" makes as much sense as "free-market communism."
From Campaign for Liberty
These are not my words, but this is what we are fighting. Freedom and government protection are the same opposites as free-market communism.
Delia
By Michael Beitler
Perhaps the biggest problem in America today is cronyism. Cronyism is big business in bed with big government. Big businesses buy influence through their campaign contributions, including political action committee (PAC) contributions.
Small business owners and entrepreneurs do not have the money to hire professional lobbyists or to fund a PAC. Big businesses have the money to hire professional lobbyists and to fund PACs. The professional lobbyists hired by big businesses work to pass burdensome regulations to crush smaller competitors. The big business PACs make contributions to political candidates (mostly incumbents) in exchange for favors.
Lobbying for big business has become a big business itself. One look at K Street in Washington, DC will give you an indication of the extent of this form of corruption. Some of these lobbyists are the most powerful people in Washington.
It is common knowledge in politics that PACs only contribute to incumbents. Of course, an exception will be made if a well-funded opponent has the financial clout to beat the incumbent. The exception is made because the ultimate goal is not to help any particular candidate but to buy influence.
Cronyism is not new. Eisenhower warned America about a developing military-industrial complex. Daniel Guérin's 1936 book, "Fascism and Big Business" was about fascist governments and their corrupt relationships with big business.
Robert Bradley's recent book, "Capitalism at Work" (2009), contains descriptions of how powerful individuals and corporations have mastered the skills of cronyism. Ken Lay of Enron was widely recognized (and praised) as a world-class player. Ken Lay wrote the playbook for others to follow.
Go to www.fec.gov and look at the list of PAC contributions to incumbents in your state. It is not hard to understand why incumbents have an advantage over their opponents. It is equally clear why the PACs make these contributions.
Let me conclude with a pet peeve. There is no such thing as "crony capitalism." Cronyism and capitalism are complete opposites. Capitalism, the economic/political system upon which America was built, is based on free markets; cronyism is based on buying influence to control markets. The term "cronyism capitalism" makes as much sense as "free-market communism."
From Campaign for Liberty
These are not my words, but this is what we are fighting. Freedom and government protection are the same opposites as free-market communism.
Delia
Monday, May 3, 2010
Raffle!
I am a big supporter of the Constitution and all of our rights! I value freedom over all other things. What good is life if you are not free? Of what use is wealth if you are not free? Is vibrant health of value if you are locked up? We created this government to secure our rights. We have allowed this government to become an overbearing monster from which we must get permission before we can catch a fish! I am a republican because I believe in freedom! This nation became great because of our freedoms! We must do what ever each of us can do to protect our freedoms. One after another one administration after another our rights are being stripped away! We are having a raffle to help fund congressional pest removal. I have a really hard time asking for donations. I just feel wrong. I have not actually managed to just ask. I am told everyone know how expensive running a congressional campaign is and that you need funds to pay for printing, website, signs the list seems endless! So we are having a raffle http://www.springfield-armory.com/armory.php?version=18 Springfield Armory 1911 PX9 152LP. It is a thing of beauty. If you are interested in purchasing tickets you can email me at Delia@dlopezforcongress.com we have several people selling them in the Portland OR area. The legal transfer will be handled by the Gun Zone and the winner must be able to pass the back ground check and be legally able to accept the firearm. For an out of area winner the weapon will need to be shipped to a licensed dealer near you for back ground check and legal transfer. We will be selling 1999 tickets at $5 (if we are able to sell every single one of them) and having the drawing on the 4th of July a day recognized as celebrating our FREEDOM! Winner need not be present to win. If you want to purchase a ticket or (100?) you may do so on my website. The donate button accepts credit cards or checks or? Please put raffle in comments and add your phone number. We will be drawing the ticket and calling the winner so we will need it. I promise not to call you otherwise!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Planting out from NW Connection
April is when many gardens really get growing! April 6 is our last anticipated frost date and April 26 is considered safe. If you are following along with me your seedlings should be growing along nice and stocky and ready to plant out! Your fruit trees and blueberry bushes are in the ground and growing and it is time to put our garden plan into effect. I know it sounds a bit weird to suggest you map out your garden but hey this is Portland, we are weird! That is part of our charm, I know I personally am not often called normal. I start with a piece of graph paper and actually make a little map. Noting North south etc. You don't want to plant corn on the south side of your garden or you will block out the sunlight! So I always plan my corn for the far north side I add green beans the pole variety not bush around my corn the beans climb up the corn saving space and as a legume they actually improve the soil for the heavy feeding corn. I add a squash to ramble around the corn as well. One of my favorites is Pink Banana the pack I started with said not for the space conscious. It should have stated that once planted in Oregon vines may reach Kentucky. I like to plant squashes so I can be more self sufficient. They are very easy to save seed from, can be stored in an unheated garage or shed for months as long as they don't freeze, are high in nutritional value and are so easy to grow. Acorn squash is another one that fills the bill, I have a great recipe I got from famous chef Capriol and adapted for my style I make it vegan and use vinegar and apple juice instead of sherry, who has sherry?
I like to grow root crops that are easy to store as well. I plant onions and carrots together. Carrot fly's don't like onions and carrots roots themselves have an exudate that is great for peas. I prefer snow peas I am a fan of stir fries the whole shelling deal with me never happens. Potatoes do well by the bean/corn area and can take some shading. I use 6' sections of cattle fencing to surround my tomatoes to hold them up off the ground and I can cover it with clear plastic to protect from frost. For me that is the easiest way to stake anything! I use smaller circles to have my cucumbers or acorn squash or melons climb as well. I use a straight section of fencing for my peas. I generally plant snow peas on Feb 14 valentines day and potatoes on Mar17 St Patty's day. I soak my pea and corn seeds in warm water while I prep the area for planting it helps speed germination. If they germinates rapidly they are less likely to rot in the cool spring soil. My biggest garden problems are animals deer, turkeys and rabbits are my issues. My soil was originally red clay stains like crazy (everyone tried Bio-quest laundry soap?) We would haul in garbage bags of leaves and they were tilled in in the spring and horse manure from cleaning out my barn. So I have very high fertility rates now and the dirt has turned into a black loam with thousands of worms. I cover my garden area with black plastic to keep the rains from washing the nutrients away and save me from much weeding. It also helps to warm up the soil and improve growth.
I do the basic map for my garden and I am not much for plant rotation, many things end up where they were the year before. Part of the reason for my maps is tags that tell what variety of tomato or what ever is always seem to disappear either gremlins run off with them or the writing fades out and I can't read it. So the map saves the day. I have a garden note book an old fashioned 3 ring binder I bring into the garden and keep notes on as well as the map. I have a basic garden map I make copies of and fill out as I go along. My garden is not too tidy, I start with the map and then end up sticking a fever few here or a few beets there or? I only have 800 words here so my garden calender and amount to plant guide will have to be added to my blog, http://dlopezforcongress.blogspot.com/ with my medicinal herb cheat sheet. Next month will be on medicinal herbs growing and usage. If you have any questions I can be contacted at Delia@dlopezforcongress.com
I like to grow root crops that are easy to store as well. I plant onions and carrots together. Carrot fly's don't like onions and carrots roots themselves have an exudate that is great for peas. I prefer snow peas I am a fan of stir fries the whole shelling deal with me never happens. Potatoes do well by the bean/corn area and can take some shading. I use 6' sections of cattle fencing to surround my tomatoes to hold them up off the ground and I can cover it with clear plastic to protect from frost. For me that is the easiest way to stake anything! I use smaller circles to have my cucumbers or acorn squash or melons climb as well. I use a straight section of fencing for my peas. I generally plant snow peas on Feb 14 valentines day and potatoes on Mar17 St Patty's day. I soak my pea and corn seeds in warm water while I prep the area for planting it helps speed germination. If they germinates rapidly they are less likely to rot in the cool spring soil. My biggest garden problems are animals deer, turkeys and rabbits are my issues. My soil was originally red clay stains like crazy (everyone tried Bio-quest laundry soap?) We would haul in garbage bags of leaves and they were tilled in in the spring and horse manure from cleaning out my barn. So I have very high fertility rates now and the dirt has turned into a black loam with thousands of worms. I cover my garden area with black plastic to keep the rains from washing the nutrients away and save me from much weeding. It also helps to warm up the soil and improve growth.
I do the basic map for my garden and I am not much for plant rotation, many things end up where they were the year before. Part of the reason for my maps is tags that tell what variety of tomato or what ever is always seem to disappear either gremlins run off with them or the writing fades out and I can't read it. So the map saves the day. I have a garden note book an old fashioned 3 ring binder I bring into the garden and keep notes on as well as the map. I have a basic garden map I make copies of and fill out as I go along. My garden is not too tidy, I start with the map and then end up sticking a fever few here or a few beets there or? I only have 800 words here so my garden calender and amount to plant guide will have to be added to my blog, http://dlopezforcongress.blogspot.com/ with my medicinal herb cheat sheet. Next month will be on medicinal herbs growing and usage. If you have any questions I can be contacted at Delia@dlopezforcongress.com
Garden Calender
Garden Calendar
This information can be used as a guide; but you may need to adjust it for your local circumstances. The average last frost has been on April 6th, while the average first frost arrived October 2nd. Late July temperatures (max/min) are around 81F/54F. Temperatures for early January are typically 50F/35F.
I have found that the garden beds that have been covered by my chicken coop cleanings will be the most fertile. I add it to the soil in early spring and put the heaviest feeders, like brassicas, in first. After those are harvested, plant the medium heavy feeders. Plant the least heavy feeders like carrots and potatoes last of all; these get hairy roots or scab if the soil is too fertile.
Many people “put in” the garden one weekend in May. I generally plant a little every month. For example, I put 6 broccoli plants and 8 lettuce plants out from the “starts” grown in the garage once a month. I will do that until July. I plant more in July to overwinter or for storage.
In my dreams I grow everything we eat; in reality, I don't even come close! Reality is that turkeys keep digging up the corn seed. Before I figured out that the turkeys were pillaging my garden, I really could not understand the lousy rate of germination! Then I caught on to the fact that the turkeys were well fed and that is why the corn production was puny. Chickens get out and eat the strawberries and the Blueberries, I find eggs hidden under the tomatoes, by stepping on them, but we keep trying.
January
Lettuce, spinach, onions and mustard can all be started indoors. Remember that mustard is photoperiodic, so don't set the timer on your lights for too long of a "day length"! I also have a small glass house that I nearly always have some greens growing in. I also have 2 coffee trees, a small lemon tree and a yerba mate in it.
February
If you are growing asparagus from seed, start it now. The seeds can take up to three weeks to germinate even if kept warm. Prune your cherry and plum trees. The sour cherry tree tends to be spreading and can be pruned to a bowl shape. Sweet cherry trees are best pruned like apple trees. Plum trees vary in their growth habit, but are often pruned to the bowl shape.
Sow broccoli, cauliflower and onions indoors about mid-month. If you use 2" pots, and keep them growing on the cool side, they'll be ready to go out under a cloche about April 1. If you planted some inside last month they can go out at the same time and will be harvest sized sooner. Late in February is a good time to start artichokes. They can be overwintered with care, but Green Globe and Imperial Star are both easy to grow like annuals as well!
I plant peas on Valentine’s Day 2/14. However, in the Maritime Northwest it's important to pay attention to the winter weather. Some years my soil isn't dry enough for any planting until mid-April! Other years, peas can be planted as early as January. I have piled sand and potting soil over my pea area to plant the seeds into and improve drainage in the seed area. It helps to get them in the ground early. Since powdery mildew is the worst problem, plant resistant varieties. Peas planted earlier have less likely hood of getting powdery mildew.
Last year I planted my peas in a different location. I had dug up a strawberry patch that had very sweet but tiny strawberries; they were too small for my tastes. I planted my peas along that fence where the strawberry patch had been. They were shaded by the garage wall during the hottest part of the day and extended my harvest. So, if you have an area that is sunny in the morning with afternoon shade give it a try for snow peas.
March
By the first week of March, the threat of severe cold blasts is usually over. Cold-weather crops will grow, but rain is a constant and must be compensated for. I use my PVC cloches to prevent the rains from rotting away my produce. I don't bring the plastic all the way down to the dirt on the beds where cool weather crops are planted. This way, the air circulates to prevent rot and water gets into the raised beds. Cool weather crops would include the brassicas, greens, carrots, onions, beets and potatoes.
Late winter is the best time to prune peach, nectarine and apricot trees because fall and early winter pruning may expose trees to winter injury and canker infections. The delay permits the grower to adjust the severity of pruning to the percentage of fruit buds that survived the winter. Strive to develop a bowl-shaped or open-center tree.
Plant fruit trees as soon as the ground can be worked and as soon as possible after arrival from the nursery. (Protect roots from drying out or freezing.) In backyard plantings, the sod beneath trees should be turned under and cultivated to prevent competition for moisture and nutrients. I mulch heavily to avoid turning and weeding. Thoroughly water the trees. (Wait to fertilize until the after the tree starts to leaf out)
Use dormant spray on stone fruit (prior to fruit bud swell). Be sure to read labels carefully before applying plant pest control materials. I generally use dormant oil. It smothers the pests that my chickens miss. I use it very early in the morning to avoid killing my honey bees. They usually stay in the hive until it warms enough for them to come out. Apply fertilizers just before bloom to maximize plant uptake and minimize leaching. I use aged horse manure.
Fertilizer Rates
Fruit / lbs. of 5-10-10 (1 lb. = 2.5 cups)
Apples (1 - 4 years old)
1/2 lb. per tree per year of tree
Apples (over 4 years old)
Omit fertilizer unless by leaf or soil analysis (or terminal shoot growth is less than 15 inches)
Peaches, Cherries & Plums
3/4 lb. per tree per year of tree age
Mid March, transplant out, under a cloche, those salad greens you started in January. Lettuce, spinach, and mustard seeds can all be sown into a cloche, and can be counted on to germinate. Beets will come up, but may bolt later in summer if March ends up being cold. Early Wonder Tall Top is a good variety for these early sowings. I like to plant a handful of tall top beets every month when I plant salad greens both for the nutritious greens and the baby beets delicious easy to grow and store. Scallions can be sown now. Note that they will probably bulb in July, but you will get a harvest.
Brassicas can be a bit dicier. Kohlrabi will usually come up if sown in a cloche, but broccoli and cauliflower normally will have to wait until April for the soil to be warm enough for seeds to germinate. Carrots can be started this early, but the soil is often too wet to be worked as well as carrots require. Shorter types are better bets because they don't have the same requirement for deep loose soil. I plant onions and beets in the same bed together. Lime the carrot bed well. Start tomatoes and peppers. If I start them in 4" pots, they are ready to go outside in mid-May. I can put them out earlier using wall o waters or covering my fence cages with clear plastic with clothes pins to secure.
Plant your potatoes on St. Patty's day! Actually potatoes can be planted out without a cloche anytime from this point onward; but sowing them now (and then again in early June) will give you two harvests, if you use an early variety such as my favorite potato, Yukon Gold. If you don't plant corn and let your pole beans climb them (corn is more difficult to grow and takes a lot of space so gardening for food value corn should not be a priority) beans and potatoes grow well together. Cabbage and potatoes grow well together also but not beans and cabbage. Both Cabbage and potatoes can be stored for use during the months when growing food is difficult with little effort, pile in a box in a cool area that does not freeze. Replant peas if seeds have rotted and did not germinate.
April
Plant out cool season crops and others if using cloches and wall o waters for frost protection. Broadcast 1.5 lbs of 5-10-10 (or equivalent amount of organic fertilizer or another complete fertilizer) in a ring around each newly-planted tree. Keep fertilizer away from base of tree. I use aged horse manure.
Measures to control weeds should begin early in the season. Maintain a weed-free area 4 feet from the trunk of young trees. Plant grass outside this weed-free area but keep it closely mowed. Sow more salad veggies, such as lettuce, spinach, and radishes. They don't really need a cloche at this point, but will probably grow better in one if it's rainy (and when isn't it rainy around here in April?)
Start your eggplant inside right around April 1st. If you started broccoli or cauliflower indoors in February, move it to the garden. You can still start tomatoes and peppers, but you'd better hurry! If you haven't already done so, turn under the green manures in the beds where you'll want to grow your summer crops (corn, squash, cucumbers). Soils are still pretty cool, so even nitrogen-rich plants need several weeks to break down.
Try eating kale blossoms! They are really tasty if the buds haven't opened yet. Beets and chard can be sown directly in the ground now. They actually will germinate if sown in March, but if the weather is too cold they will bolt (this is because they are biennial, and can be fooled into thinking they have overwintered). Sow kohlrabi, broccoli, and cauliflower directly in the ground. Remember that brassicas tend to be fairly heavy feeders, so plant them in well fertilized beds. If your garden has problems with the cabbage maggot, cover the bed with a cloche made with a floating row cover like Agro-fabric P10.
Peas can still be sown. However, since they will mature in hot weather, plant enation-resistant varieties (enation is spread by aphids which become more active once summer hits). Tomato plants can be set outside during the day on nice days. They will do much better if given the protection of a cold frame, unless it is unusually warm. Bring them in at night. Enjoy the abundant harvests of sprouting broccoli! Start basil inside around the 15th of the month. If you grow it in 4" pots, it'll be ready to go outside right about when the nights are warm enough. Now is a good time to plant bulb onions. Depending on the variety, these will be harvested in August or September. Remember that onions like warmth early in their lives, so using a cloche or row cover fabric will benefit them.
Hard-grown tomatoes can be planted outside under a cloche late in this period. Do NOT try this with store-purchased plants, or plants that have been grown in warm conditions (even if you've hardened them off). They do well by asparagus and can be planted among them once the asparagus is done producing for the year and just has spears growing. I have a stinging nettle in an open bottomed tub dug into the ground next to my asparagus bed and it is supposed to help tomatoes store better when grown by nettle because is a medicinal herb.
May
It's the first of a new month, and it's time to plant more salad stuff. Once a month is easy to remember, and it will keep you supplied with salad.
In early May I begin to keep a closer eye on the weather. The danger of frost is basically over, but soil temperature can vary quite a bit. If we are blessed with a sunny week in May, I like to gamble with early sowings of corn and beans. Don't plant your entire crop, and don't be too disappointed if they fail! If they germinate, though, they probably will make it.
In most years the soil will have dried out somewhat by now. If that's the case, put in your main carrot planting. Carrots do much better in raised beds, and love deeply-worked soil. But you don't really need to use a tiller; I've gotten good results just working the bed over with a spading fork.
Because soil temperature can vary so much this time of year, I usually plan on starting my curcurbits indoors. Sow squash, pumpkins, cucumbers and melons directly into large pots around the 15th of the month. Squash and pumpkins are very vigorous, so be prepared to move them to the garden within two weeks. All curcurbits are touchy about transplanting, so you might want to use peat pellets (I've had reasonable success with plastic pots, as long as I am very careful when I transplant them).
Even store-bought tomato plants can be put into the garden now. It is still a good idea to use a cloche. Plan on sowing your dry beans if a stretch of sunny days is forecast. They will need time to mature and dry down. Even with an early sowing, you may end up putting a cloche over them in September. Take inventory of the vegetable seeds you'll use for your winter garden. A lot of them are sown around the first of June, and it'll take at least a week to receive any you mail order.
June
Same as before - start more salad greens.
June 1st is my target date for sowing Brussels sprouts and cabbage. If direct-sown, they will germinate quickly and grow fast. However, if June is wet the slugs can quickly decimate these brassicas, so I usually start them indoors now. Any late-season corn should go in now, in order to have time to mature. Even if it's cloudy, June's long days mean the soil won't be too cool. Sugar-enhanced varieties may still need a little help, though, so consider using clear plastic over the bed if the sun isn't cooperating.
Fall broccoli and cauliflower should be sown during this first half of June. I like to grow them under a tent. This protects them from both the cabbage maggot and the cabbage worm. Cucumbers grow rapidly, and will produce even if they are started at the end of this month! It's a good thing, too. Cukes need warm soil to germinate, and that's not always the situation earlier in the month. Using a cloche, or covering the bed with clear plastic, will usually generate the necessary extra heat.
Summer squash can be direct-sown anytime now. I guess you don't really need me to tell you that. Move your peppers and eggplant out into the garden now. They will do a lot better if you provide a cloche. These two cousins grow much better with warm daytime temperatures, and the inside of a cloche will easily add 10 degrees on a cloudy day. In all likelihood, the basil you started earlier will start running to seed soon. Early June is a great time to start more. With the warmer temperatures, the basil won't go to flower nearly as fast.
Early to mid June is a good target for starting a late bed of potatoes. Yukon Gold, put in now, will give you a nice harvest in fall. Take a deep breath. Look around. The second half of June is time to get caught up in your garden. If you've been too busy, or the weather has just not cooperated, you can still get those early June chores done and still be successful. It might also be worthwhile to consider starting some of the early July winter root crops a few weeks early. June's weather is often more cooperative than July's when it comes to keeping slow-germinating seeds moist.
July
The weatherman will tell you that July 12th is the date (on average) that summer arrives in the Maritime Pacific Northwest. It's also when the bulk of your winter garden has to be started as well! You might feel a bit funny getting sunburned while sowing winter carrots, but you'll get used to it. Sow salad greens one more time. Be sure to keep some seeds for next month, when the winter greens have to go in.
Winter beets, such as Lutz or Winterkeeper, need to be sown before the 15th to be successful. Try to get it done around the 1st if you can. You can be more flexible with carrots. Between the 10th and 15th is ideal for most winter-cropping varieties, but sowings as late as the 31st will still give you useable (but smaller) roots. Earlier sowings will work as well.
You can still plant pole beans: It's better to get them started in June of course, but it's still not too late! I've had the most success with kohlrabi if I sow it around the 15th, although Territorial recommends a date between July 20th and August 10th. Try two different sowing dates, to get a handle on what works best in your garden. The timing will be affected by your exact location, soil fertility, and the relative abundance of cabbage maggot flies.
In my garden I need to get the overwintering cauliflower and (sprouting) broccoli started by the 15th if I want a decent harvest the following spring. July 15th is usually a safe starting date for most of the day length-sensitive mustards. If sown now, they are unlikely to bolt. Your leeks are probably about ready to shift to their final location. Try to pick a rainy day if you can, but how likely is that in July?
August
Summer may start on July 12th, but sometimes it ends well before August 31st! The days are starting to get noticeably shorter, and sometimes we can get surprised by a very cold night. Frost, however, is still at least a month away. Winter lettuce will size up best if sown during the first half of this month (later sowings will still work, but the plants will be somewhat smaller going into winter). The various chicories (endive, escarole, radicchio, etc.) need a good amount of time to mature, especially if they are the heading types. Right now I'd recommend a sowing date of August 1st for all of these. Be aware that I've only tried winter radicchio a handful of times, so I don't have the best sowing date nailed down yet. Spinach can be started now. It matures faster than most of those other greens, and can be successfully sown as late as the 31st.
I like to start corn salad (mache, or lamb's lettuce) right about the 15th of August. Arugula, if put in between mid-August and early September, will size up without bolting. Okay, without bolting immediately, at least! Play around a bit with overwintered onions to find the best starting date. I try to start mine about the 15th. If you haven't grown them before, consider making three sowings (on the 1st, 15th, and 30th) and go from there.
September
The days are quickly getting shorter, but there's still time to plant! This is a perfect time to sow arugula, or some of the fast-growing Asian greens. Try a couple different sowing dates to see what works best for your garden. Walla Walla onions, which dry down later than most other overwintered onions, can be started as late as mid-September - I've gotten good bulbs in July after sowing Walla Wallas that late. You can still get away with sowing lettuce and spinach - but the plants will be much smaller going into winter. Space them accordingly.
Plant some radishes. You should probably still protect them from the maggot fly using a row cover. Leave your winter squash and pumpkins on the plant for as long as you can. Remember that a fully ripe squash will have a hard stem. If frost or disease severely damages the leaves, though, harvest them. As you clean up after your summer crops, prepare the beds for next year. Lime the beds with dolomite and add organic matter, such as leaves or compost. It's not too early to sow a cover crop either. Garlic can be planted anytime that the ground isn't hard, but I prefer putting it in toward the end of September. That way it's sure to get established, and it'll even show some top growth this fall.
October
Planting time is mostly over, but that doesn't mean it's time to take a break! Covering your beds will help build your soil up for next year, and protect it from all the rain that'll be falling over the next six months...
Prep your beds as they become available. This is when I clean out my chicken coop and prepare the girls’ house for winter. I use the chicken manure/ shaving mix to cover my beds for the winter. Have you planted your garlic yet? Usually the second half of October displays a marked deterioration in the weather. If you've got cauliflower and broccoli that are still going, consider setting up some sort of cover for those plants. They are cold hardy enough to last through November - but constant rain will ruin them. It's also a good time to start protecting your winter greens from the rain. If the weather is nice, though, they'll appreciate some unfiltered sun.
November
If you've got tree leaves available, remember that they make good mulch for unused beds. They can also be used to insulate crops that aren't slug prone, such as leeks - these are much easier to dig if the soil isn't semi-frozen! Apply lime in accordance with soil test recommendations. For best results, incorporate lime with the soil. One ton/acre =about 50 lb per 100 sq ft (32 x 32 ft)
Remove apple root suckers. My secret fertilizer is horse apples in a tub filled with water with an aquarium pump & air stones in it. The bacteria grow in it and seem to help with damping off. My orchids in the house bloom well with this. I have drip systems and timers everywhere. I set them up when the weather dries out. To help me remember, I schedule things in my brain like this: on the 8th of the month plant salad greens, beets, transplants out or new starts in garage. Every Tuesday after my radio show I connect the drip system to the hose to water the orchard, and water the orchids. I have the original calendar with all these details in my garden binder where I keep my map and other notes.
This information can be used as a guide; but you may need to adjust it for your local circumstances. The average last frost has been on April 6th, while the average first frost arrived October 2nd. Late July temperatures (max/min) are around 81F/54F. Temperatures for early January are typically 50F/35F.
I have found that the garden beds that have been covered by my chicken coop cleanings will be the most fertile. I add it to the soil in early spring and put the heaviest feeders, like brassicas, in first. After those are harvested, plant the medium heavy feeders. Plant the least heavy feeders like carrots and potatoes last of all; these get hairy roots or scab if the soil is too fertile.
Many people “put in” the garden one weekend in May. I generally plant a little every month. For example, I put 6 broccoli plants and 8 lettuce plants out from the “starts” grown in the garage once a month. I will do that until July. I plant more in July to overwinter or for storage.
In my dreams I grow everything we eat; in reality, I don't even come close! Reality is that turkeys keep digging up the corn seed. Before I figured out that the turkeys were pillaging my garden, I really could not understand the lousy rate of germination! Then I caught on to the fact that the turkeys were well fed and that is why the corn production was puny. Chickens get out and eat the strawberries and the Blueberries, I find eggs hidden under the tomatoes, by stepping on them, but we keep trying.
January
Lettuce, spinach, onions and mustard can all be started indoors. Remember that mustard is photoperiodic, so don't set the timer on your lights for too long of a "day length"! I also have a small glass house that I nearly always have some greens growing in. I also have 2 coffee trees, a small lemon tree and a yerba mate in it.
February
If you are growing asparagus from seed, start it now. The seeds can take up to three weeks to germinate even if kept warm. Prune your cherry and plum trees. The sour cherry tree tends to be spreading and can be pruned to a bowl shape. Sweet cherry trees are best pruned like apple trees. Plum trees vary in their growth habit, but are often pruned to the bowl shape.
Sow broccoli, cauliflower and onions indoors about mid-month. If you use 2" pots, and keep them growing on the cool side, they'll be ready to go out under a cloche about April 1. If you planted some inside last month they can go out at the same time and will be harvest sized sooner. Late in February is a good time to start artichokes. They can be overwintered with care, but Green Globe and Imperial Star are both easy to grow like annuals as well!
I plant peas on Valentine’s Day 2/14. However, in the Maritime Northwest it's important to pay attention to the winter weather. Some years my soil isn't dry enough for any planting until mid-April! Other years, peas can be planted as early as January. I have piled sand and potting soil over my pea area to plant the seeds into and improve drainage in the seed area. It helps to get them in the ground early. Since powdery mildew is the worst problem, plant resistant varieties. Peas planted earlier have less likely hood of getting powdery mildew.
Last year I planted my peas in a different location. I had dug up a strawberry patch that had very sweet but tiny strawberries; they were too small for my tastes. I planted my peas along that fence where the strawberry patch had been. They were shaded by the garage wall during the hottest part of the day and extended my harvest. So, if you have an area that is sunny in the morning with afternoon shade give it a try for snow peas.
March
By the first week of March, the threat of severe cold blasts is usually over. Cold-weather crops will grow, but rain is a constant and must be compensated for. I use my PVC cloches to prevent the rains from rotting away my produce. I don't bring the plastic all the way down to the dirt on the beds where cool weather crops are planted. This way, the air circulates to prevent rot and water gets into the raised beds. Cool weather crops would include the brassicas, greens, carrots, onions, beets and potatoes.
Late winter is the best time to prune peach, nectarine and apricot trees because fall and early winter pruning may expose trees to winter injury and canker infections. The delay permits the grower to adjust the severity of pruning to the percentage of fruit buds that survived the winter. Strive to develop a bowl-shaped or open-center tree.
Plant fruit trees as soon as the ground can be worked and as soon as possible after arrival from the nursery. (Protect roots from drying out or freezing.) In backyard plantings, the sod beneath trees should be turned under and cultivated to prevent competition for moisture and nutrients. I mulch heavily to avoid turning and weeding. Thoroughly water the trees. (Wait to fertilize until the after the tree starts to leaf out)
Use dormant spray on stone fruit (prior to fruit bud swell). Be sure to read labels carefully before applying plant pest control materials. I generally use dormant oil. It smothers the pests that my chickens miss. I use it very early in the morning to avoid killing my honey bees. They usually stay in the hive until it warms enough for them to come out. Apply fertilizers just before bloom to maximize plant uptake and minimize leaching. I use aged horse manure.
Fertilizer Rates
Fruit / lbs. of 5-10-10 (1 lb. = 2.5 cups)
Apples (1 - 4 years old)
1/2 lb. per tree per year of tree
Apples (over 4 years old)
Omit fertilizer unless by leaf or soil analysis (or terminal shoot growth is less than 15 inches)
Peaches, Cherries & Plums
3/4 lb. per tree per year of tree age
Mid March, transplant out, under a cloche, those salad greens you started in January. Lettuce, spinach, and mustard seeds can all be sown into a cloche, and can be counted on to germinate. Beets will come up, but may bolt later in summer if March ends up being cold. Early Wonder Tall Top is a good variety for these early sowings. I like to plant a handful of tall top beets every month when I plant salad greens both for the nutritious greens and the baby beets delicious easy to grow and store. Scallions can be sown now. Note that they will probably bulb in July, but you will get a harvest.
Brassicas can be a bit dicier. Kohlrabi will usually come up if sown in a cloche, but broccoli and cauliflower normally will have to wait until April for the soil to be warm enough for seeds to germinate. Carrots can be started this early, but the soil is often too wet to be worked as well as carrots require. Shorter types are better bets because they don't have the same requirement for deep loose soil. I plant onions and beets in the same bed together. Lime the carrot bed well. Start tomatoes and peppers. If I start them in 4" pots, they are ready to go outside in mid-May. I can put them out earlier using wall o waters or covering my fence cages with clear plastic with clothes pins to secure.
Plant your potatoes on St. Patty's day! Actually potatoes can be planted out without a cloche anytime from this point onward; but sowing them now (and then again in early June) will give you two harvests, if you use an early variety such as my favorite potato, Yukon Gold. If you don't plant corn and let your pole beans climb them (corn is more difficult to grow and takes a lot of space so gardening for food value corn should not be a priority) beans and potatoes grow well together. Cabbage and potatoes grow well together also but not beans and cabbage. Both Cabbage and potatoes can be stored for use during the months when growing food is difficult with little effort, pile in a box in a cool area that does not freeze. Replant peas if seeds have rotted and did not germinate.
April
Plant out cool season crops and others if using cloches and wall o waters for frost protection. Broadcast 1.5 lbs of 5-10-10 (or equivalent amount of organic fertilizer or another complete fertilizer) in a ring around each newly-planted tree. Keep fertilizer away from base of tree. I use aged horse manure.
Measures to control weeds should begin early in the season. Maintain a weed-free area 4 feet from the trunk of young trees. Plant grass outside this weed-free area but keep it closely mowed. Sow more salad veggies, such as lettuce, spinach, and radishes. They don't really need a cloche at this point, but will probably grow better in one if it's rainy (and when isn't it rainy around here in April?)
Start your eggplant inside right around April 1st. If you started broccoli or cauliflower indoors in February, move it to the garden. You can still start tomatoes and peppers, but you'd better hurry! If you haven't already done so, turn under the green manures in the beds where you'll want to grow your summer crops (corn, squash, cucumbers). Soils are still pretty cool, so even nitrogen-rich plants need several weeks to break down.
Try eating kale blossoms! They are really tasty if the buds haven't opened yet. Beets and chard can be sown directly in the ground now. They actually will germinate if sown in March, but if the weather is too cold they will bolt (this is because they are biennial, and can be fooled into thinking they have overwintered). Sow kohlrabi, broccoli, and cauliflower directly in the ground. Remember that brassicas tend to be fairly heavy feeders, so plant them in well fertilized beds. If your garden has problems with the cabbage maggot, cover the bed with a cloche made with a floating row cover like Agro-fabric P10.
Peas can still be sown. However, since they will mature in hot weather, plant enation-resistant varieties (enation is spread by aphids which become more active once summer hits). Tomato plants can be set outside during the day on nice days. They will do much better if given the protection of a cold frame, unless it is unusually warm. Bring them in at night. Enjoy the abundant harvests of sprouting broccoli! Start basil inside around the 15th of the month. If you grow it in 4" pots, it'll be ready to go outside right about when the nights are warm enough. Now is a good time to plant bulb onions. Depending on the variety, these will be harvested in August or September. Remember that onions like warmth early in their lives, so using a cloche or row cover fabric will benefit them.
Hard-grown tomatoes can be planted outside under a cloche late in this period. Do NOT try this with store-purchased plants, or plants that have been grown in warm conditions (even if you've hardened them off). They do well by asparagus and can be planted among them once the asparagus is done producing for the year and just has spears growing. I have a stinging nettle in an open bottomed tub dug into the ground next to my asparagus bed and it is supposed to help tomatoes store better when grown by nettle because is a medicinal herb.
May
It's the first of a new month, and it's time to plant more salad stuff. Once a month is easy to remember, and it will keep you supplied with salad.
In early May I begin to keep a closer eye on the weather. The danger of frost is basically over, but soil temperature can vary quite a bit. If we are blessed with a sunny week in May, I like to gamble with early sowings of corn and beans. Don't plant your entire crop, and don't be too disappointed if they fail! If they germinate, though, they probably will make it.
In most years the soil will have dried out somewhat by now. If that's the case, put in your main carrot planting. Carrots do much better in raised beds, and love deeply-worked soil. But you don't really need to use a tiller; I've gotten good results just working the bed over with a spading fork.
Because soil temperature can vary so much this time of year, I usually plan on starting my curcurbits indoors. Sow squash, pumpkins, cucumbers and melons directly into large pots around the 15th of the month. Squash and pumpkins are very vigorous, so be prepared to move them to the garden within two weeks. All curcurbits are touchy about transplanting, so you might want to use peat pellets (I've had reasonable success with plastic pots, as long as I am very careful when I transplant them).
Even store-bought tomato plants can be put into the garden now. It is still a good idea to use a cloche. Plan on sowing your dry beans if a stretch of sunny days is forecast. They will need time to mature and dry down. Even with an early sowing, you may end up putting a cloche over them in September. Take inventory of the vegetable seeds you'll use for your winter garden. A lot of them are sown around the first of June, and it'll take at least a week to receive any you mail order.
June
Same as before - start more salad greens.
June 1st is my target date for sowing Brussels sprouts and cabbage. If direct-sown, they will germinate quickly and grow fast. However, if June is wet the slugs can quickly decimate these brassicas, so I usually start them indoors now. Any late-season corn should go in now, in order to have time to mature. Even if it's cloudy, June's long days mean the soil won't be too cool. Sugar-enhanced varieties may still need a little help, though, so consider using clear plastic over the bed if the sun isn't cooperating.
Fall broccoli and cauliflower should be sown during this first half of June. I like to grow them under a tent. This protects them from both the cabbage maggot and the cabbage worm. Cucumbers grow rapidly, and will produce even if they are started at the end of this month! It's a good thing, too. Cukes need warm soil to germinate, and that's not always the situation earlier in the month. Using a cloche, or covering the bed with clear plastic, will usually generate the necessary extra heat.
Summer squash can be direct-sown anytime now. I guess you don't really need me to tell you that. Move your peppers and eggplant out into the garden now. They will do a lot better if you provide a cloche. These two cousins grow much better with warm daytime temperatures, and the inside of a cloche will easily add 10 degrees on a cloudy day. In all likelihood, the basil you started earlier will start running to seed soon. Early June is a great time to start more. With the warmer temperatures, the basil won't go to flower nearly as fast.
Early to mid June is a good target for starting a late bed of potatoes. Yukon Gold, put in now, will give you a nice harvest in fall. Take a deep breath. Look around. The second half of June is time to get caught up in your garden. If you've been too busy, or the weather has just not cooperated, you can still get those early June chores done and still be successful. It might also be worthwhile to consider starting some of the early July winter root crops a few weeks early. June's weather is often more cooperative than July's when it comes to keeping slow-germinating seeds moist.
July
The weatherman will tell you that July 12th is the date (on average) that summer arrives in the Maritime Pacific Northwest. It's also when the bulk of your winter garden has to be started as well! You might feel a bit funny getting sunburned while sowing winter carrots, but you'll get used to it. Sow salad greens one more time. Be sure to keep some seeds for next month, when the winter greens have to go in.
Winter beets, such as Lutz or Winterkeeper, need to be sown before the 15th to be successful. Try to get it done around the 1st if you can. You can be more flexible with carrots. Between the 10th and 15th is ideal for most winter-cropping varieties, but sowings as late as the 31st will still give you useable (but smaller) roots. Earlier sowings will work as well.
You can still plant pole beans: It's better to get them started in June of course, but it's still not too late! I've had the most success with kohlrabi if I sow it around the 15th, although Territorial recommends a date between July 20th and August 10th. Try two different sowing dates, to get a handle on what works best in your garden. The timing will be affected by your exact location, soil fertility, and the relative abundance of cabbage maggot flies.
In my garden I need to get the overwintering cauliflower and (sprouting) broccoli started by the 15th if I want a decent harvest the following spring. July 15th is usually a safe starting date for most of the day length-sensitive mustards. If sown now, they are unlikely to bolt. Your leeks are probably about ready to shift to their final location. Try to pick a rainy day if you can, but how likely is that in July?
August
Summer may start on July 12th, but sometimes it ends well before August 31st! The days are starting to get noticeably shorter, and sometimes we can get surprised by a very cold night. Frost, however, is still at least a month away. Winter lettuce will size up best if sown during the first half of this month (later sowings will still work, but the plants will be somewhat smaller going into winter). The various chicories (endive, escarole, radicchio, etc.) need a good amount of time to mature, especially if they are the heading types. Right now I'd recommend a sowing date of August 1st for all of these. Be aware that I've only tried winter radicchio a handful of times, so I don't have the best sowing date nailed down yet. Spinach can be started now. It matures faster than most of those other greens, and can be successfully sown as late as the 31st.
I like to start corn salad (mache, or lamb's lettuce) right about the 15th of August. Arugula, if put in between mid-August and early September, will size up without bolting. Okay, without bolting immediately, at least! Play around a bit with overwintered onions to find the best starting date. I try to start mine about the 15th. If you haven't grown them before, consider making three sowings (on the 1st, 15th, and 30th) and go from there.
September
The days are quickly getting shorter, but there's still time to plant! This is a perfect time to sow arugula, or some of the fast-growing Asian greens. Try a couple different sowing dates to see what works best for your garden. Walla Walla onions, which dry down later than most other overwintered onions, can be started as late as mid-September - I've gotten good bulbs in July after sowing Walla Wallas that late. You can still get away with sowing lettuce and spinach - but the plants will be much smaller going into winter. Space them accordingly.
Plant some radishes. You should probably still protect them from the maggot fly using a row cover. Leave your winter squash and pumpkins on the plant for as long as you can. Remember that a fully ripe squash will have a hard stem. If frost or disease severely damages the leaves, though, harvest them. As you clean up after your summer crops, prepare the beds for next year. Lime the beds with dolomite and add organic matter, such as leaves or compost. It's not too early to sow a cover crop either. Garlic can be planted anytime that the ground isn't hard, but I prefer putting it in toward the end of September. That way it's sure to get established, and it'll even show some top growth this fall.
October
Planting time is mostly over, but that doesn't mean it's time to take a break! Covering your beds will help build your soil up for next year, and protect it from all the rain that'll be falling over the next six months...
Prep your beds as they become available. This is when I clean out my chicken coop and prepare the girls’ house for winter. I use the chicken manure/ shaving mix to cover my beds for the winter. Have you planted your garlic yet? Usually the second half of October displays a marked deterioration in the weather. If you've got cauliflower and broccoli that are still going, consider setting up some sort of cover for those plants. They are cold hardy enough to last through November - but constant rain will ruin them. It's also a good time to start protecting your winter greens from the rain. If the weather is nice, though, they'll appreciate some unfiltered sun.
November
If you've got tree leaves available, remember that they make good mulch for unused beds. They can also be used to insulate crops that aren't slug prone, such as leeks - these are much easier to dig if the soil isn't semi-frozen! Apply lime in accordance with soil test recommendations. For best results, incorporate lime with the soil. One ton/acre =about 50 lb per 100 sq ft (32 x 32 ft)
Remove apple root suckers. My secret fertilizer is horse apples in a tub filled with water with an aquarium pump & air stones in it. The bacteria grow in it and seem to help with damping off. My orchids in the house bloom well with this. I have drip systems and timers everywhere. I set them up when the weather dries out. To help me remember, I schedule things in my brain like this: on the 8th of the month plant salad greens, beets, transplants out or new starts in garage. Every Tuesday after my radio show I connect the drip system to the hose to water the orchard, and water the orchids. I have the original calendar with all these details in my garden binder where I keep my map and other notes.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Debate! April 3, 2010 7-8 pm
Benson Polytechnic High School auditorium, 546 Northeast 12th Avenue in Portland
Delia Lopez (R), Michael Meo (PGP) and John Sweeney (D) Three candidates for congressional nominations in the 3rd District will debate the Economic Meltdown, Health care and the environment. This should be an interesting event!
In my opinion all of the problems our nation is facing at this time are because we have stopped following the Constitution as the law of the land, and we the people have allowed the government to grow and control everything!
Delia Lopez (R), Michael Meo (PGP) and John Sweeney (D) Three candidates for congressional nominations in the 3rd District will debate the Economic Meltdown, Health care and the environment. This should be an interesting event!
In my opinion all of the problems our nation is facing at this time are because we have stopped following the Constitution as the law of the land, and we the people have allowed the government to grow and control everything!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Campaign kick off rally March 27 Portland
Campaign kick off rally Central Library US Bank room 801 SW 10th Ave., Portland, come meet Delia!
Then over to the park Simon and Helen Directors Park Enjoy the sunshine and get a chance to meet and mingle with Delia Lopez Congressional candidate for Oregon's district 3 Multnomah and northern Clackamas county. Bring your questions and find out how more freedom and less government can improve our environment, economy and cut spending and give us more opportunities. Simon and Helen Director Park is located between Southwest Park and Southwest Ninth, and Southwest Taylor and Southwest Yamhill.
912 Meet and mingle
American Legion Post, 2146 SE Monroe Street, Milwaukie, OR 97222
March 27, Saturday - Meet & Mingle Click for Details and RSVP Here http://oregon912project.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=15 7 - 9 pm Oregon 912 Project American Legion Post, 2146 SE Monroe Street, Milwaukie, OR 97222 Highlights of the 912 Convention: Where Do We Go From Here? Mingle with fellow 912ers Meet with committees and contribute your ideas Coffee and Light Refreshments (No outside beverages may be brought in.) Bring friends!
dlopezforcongress@yahoo.com 503-954-4080
Then over to the park Simon and Helen Directors Park Enjoy the sunshine and get a chance to meet and mingle with Delia Lopez Congressional candidate for Oregon's district 3 Multnomah and northern Clackamas county. Bring your questions and find out how more freedom and less government can improve our environment, economy and cut spending and give us more opportunities. Simon and Helen Director Park is located between Southwest Park and Southwest Ninth, and Southwest Taylor and Southwest Yamhill.
912 Meet and mingle
American Legion Post, 2146 SE Monroe Street, Milwaukie, OR 97222
March 27, Saturday - Meet & Mingle Click for Details and RSVP Here http://oregon912project.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=15 7 - 9 pm Oregon 912 Project American Legion Post, 2146 SE Monroe Street, Milwaukie, OR 97222 Highlights of the 912 Convention: Where Do We Go From Here? Mingle with fellow 912ers Meet with committees and contribute your ideas Coffee and Light Refreshments (No outside beverages may be brought in.) Bring friends!
dlopezforcongress@yahoo.com 503-954-4080
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Liberty Candidates! Lets get to work!
What is the Function of Government?
Will we choose to subject ourselves to the despotism of bureaucracy; controlling our every act, destroying what equality we have attained, reducing us eventually to the condition of impoverished slaves of the state? Or will we cling to the liberties for which man has struggled for more than a thousand years? It is important to understand the magnitude of the issue before us. If we do not choose to have a tyrannical, oppressive bureaucracy controlling our lives, destroying progress, depressing our standard of living, then we must force the federal government to return to its Constitutionally enumerated powers and restore our inalienable rights. Should it not be the function of the government to limit its activities to those which it is constitutionally authorized to deal? For example; the Constitution lists national defense, maintaining law and order, protecting life and property, preventing dishonesty, and guarding the public against vested special interests as legitimate activities for government.
Politicians Seeking Donations vs. Serving the Public Interest
Politicians seeking campaign donations have created tax systems to tilt the playing field to benefit the politically connected at the top, while forcing small businesses to pay for it. Increasing taxes on small companies, while creating specialized tax situations for large corporations, this practice has put thousands of Americans in the unemployment lines. Creating regulations, licenses and insurance requirements for the smallest of businesses has stifled entrepreneurial spirit and prevented people from starting small businesses, eliminating for many the best opportunity to work their way out of poverty.
Politicians seeking campaign donations, and multinational corporations have together formulated trade deals so that corporations can speculate across borders with currency, food and natural resources. They do this even as, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, 1.02 billion people on the planet struggle with hunger. Globalization has obliterated the ability of many poor countries to protect food staples such as corn, rice, beans and wheat with subsidies or taxes on imported staples. The abolishment of these protections has permitted the giant mechanized farms to wipe out tens of millions of small farmers, bankrupting many and driving them off their land. The wealthiest governments and corporations use institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization like pit bulls to establish economic supremacy.
The contrast between huge bonuses for managers at the top and the income of two-job workers below seems far too common in a globalized world. For three decades, the elite consensus of politicians and corporate leaders have insisted that third-world debts could not be put aside in a sort of bad debt reserve without betraying Globalism’s essential principles and moral obligations. These principles and obligations included an unwavering respect for the sanctity of international contracts. It took the same people about two weeks to abandon that sanctity and propose bailouts for their own far larger debts in 2008 and again in 2009 with the working class Americans footing the tab.
Storm Troopers, why?
Look at the extreme militarization of our police. Consider the increasing number of police on the roads and the military gear with which they are equipped. FBI statistics show that violent crime is at its lowest rate since 1964. The police that were preplaced in Pittsburgh for the G20 meeting looked like storm troopers from Star Wars movies. The armored vehicle that pulled out between the "Storm Trooper" looking police, looked surreal on American city streets. Why, in this time of budget crisis, are we spending money for such things?
Banker Bailouts, how’s that working for you?
The power elite grasps, even if we do not, the massive fraud and theft being undertaken. This is all to save a criminal class on Wall Street, and international speculators of the kinds who were executed in other periods of human history. They know the awful cost this plundering of state treasuries will impose on workers, who will become a permanent underclass. And, they also know that once this is clear to the rest of us, rebellion will no longer be a foreign concept. Our global economy, like our political system, has been hijacked by a tiny oligarchy, composed mostly of wealthy men who serve corporations.
Our corporate media perpetuates a left-right split, calling people who are protesting banker bailouts of Wall Street billionaires "Racist Tea Baggers" claiming they are wildly distorting the truth. Media outlets lead with propagandized stories to make people think a financial scam, a tax that will be forced on all the workers of the world, could in some way save our planet. This has already made Al Gore the first Carbon Billionaire. Gore has made over a billion dollars for himself pushing this new tax. I fail to understand how super- rich people making even more money will help anything.
Why We’re Running
During Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign Dr Paul suggested that if people really wanted to help him restore our republic, they should run for congress. Several brave individuals stepped forward and actually did something none of them probably ever imagined they would do; they ran for congress! It was an uphill battle, a late start for many of them, people that had never run campaigns before stepped up, often in opposition to the Republican Party many of them were running in.
This year in 2010 many of those brave souls are running again and many more have joined in the fight. Imagine if congress was made up of individuals that had held jobs, run businesses and actually understood the constitution, the idea that government was created to secure our rights! The possibility excites me. This year, there are several different groups all volunteering to help these candidates I am including a list of them so any of you can go to these sites and see if there is a candidate in your area you can volunteer to help. Even if you do not live near a candidate, you can still help.
How You Can Help
If you have an extra $5 send it; contact them and see if they have a phone bank set up so you can make calls and talk to people about the idea of freedom! If we all commit to $10 or 2 hours a week, we can make a difference in our country. Tea party patriots and 9/12 members are getting active and joining our cause. Lets take time to educate ourselves on the wisdom of a non-interventionist foreign policy as recommended by our founding fathers. Our numbers are growing and with it, our strength. We are winning small victories across the country. In Douglas County, Oregon, the County Commissioners wanted to add global warming legislation onto all land within the county, all 3 commissioners were in favor of it. On the night the commissioners were to vote, hundreds of citizens showed up to rally in protest. They voted it down!
Scott Brown in MA was the republican and Martha Coakley was a shoe in until the people got involved. A phone bank was set up, and people from around the Nation started to call in and support him. Scott Brown's win sends a loud message to congress. We need to make sure they understand that this message was not, “We want Republicans,” the message is, “We the people do not want more government controlling our lives.”
Most of the Liberty candidates are running entirely grassroots campaigns so join onto a team. There are so many ways you can help to get a Liberty candidate elected, even if you have no money and live far from them. Offer to manage their Wikipedia page, build one for them if they don't have one, monitor it to counter changes added by political opponents. Send “Tweets” to friends and neighbors about events where they will be speaking. Have a bake sale or bottle round up and donate the proceeds to them. What talents do you have? Do you make fliers? Make up fliers based on the information on their web page and send them the pdf file. Graphics artists, send them art to use for campaign signs or fliers. Do you build web pages? Have a server? Put together a chart showing the voting record of their opponent and send it to them. Has their opponent been involved in several scandals, or questionable fund raising activities? People have a right to know! Start a Facebook page or blog detailing the actions you feel are questionable, and send a link to the candidate so they can more easily stay abreast of their opponents actions. Is your English excellent? Volunteer to proof read or write speeches. All of these things can be done over the Internet and would free up time for the candidate.
We must force the Federal Government to return to its Constitutionally enumerated powers and restore our inalienable rights. Government’s main goal has become to preserve government, not the rights of the individual. Unless we, as individuals, join together and commit to work for freedom for everyone, our Government will continue encroaching into more areas of our lives. The latest attack is the healthcare bill. After the swing to the right to get Patriot and FISA passed, we swing to the left to get a national ID and health and financial records on everyone. Also, a huge new Government program “Cap and Trade,” looms ahead. We have ended up with the pendulum swinging back and forth taking our freedoms on each pass as one political party and then the other has taken power by making promises it had no intention of keeping. The party in power then quickly breaks those promises leaving people upset and active. Now is our opportunity, to finally get people to work together and forget the left/right nonsense of party politics. Won’t you help us?
Check out the different sites listing liberty candidates
http://gigibowman.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/hello-world/
http://americanbuilt.us/news/2010-Liberty-Candidates.shtml
www.libertyslate.com
http://www.rlc.org/endorsements/2010-endorsed-candidates/
http://www.retakecongress.com/
http://congressofhope.com/
www.Liberty-Candidates.org
Delia Lopez
US Congressional Candidate
www.dlopezforcongress.com
"In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution."
Thomas Jefferson
Will we choose to subject ourselves to the despotism of bureaucracy; controlling our every act, destroying what equality we have attained, reducing us eventually to the condition of impoverished slaves of the state? Or will we cling to the liberties for which man has struggled for more than a thousand years? It is important to understand the magnitude of the issue before us. If we do not choose to have a tyrannical, oppressive bureaucracy controlling our lives, destroying progress, depressing our standard of living, then we must force the federal government to return to its Constitutionally enumerated powers and restore our inalienable rights. Should it not be the function of the government to limit its activities to those which it is constitutionally authorized to deal? For example; the Constitution lists national defense, maintaining law and order, protecting life and property, preventing dishonesty, and guarding the public against vested special interests as legitimate activities for government.
Politicians Seeking Donations vs. Serving the Public Interest
Politicians seeking campaign donations have created tax systems to tilt the playing field to benefit the politically connected at the top, while forcing small businesses to pay for it. Increasing taxes on small companies, while creating specialized tax situations for large corporations, this practice has put thousands of Americans in the unemployment lines. Creating regulations, licenses and insurance requirements for the smallest of businesses has stifled entrepreneurial spirit and prevented people from starting small businesses, eliminating for many the best opportunity to work their way out of poverty.
Politicians seeking campaign donations, and multinational corporations have together formulated trade deals so that corporations can speculate across borders with currency, food and natural resources. They do this even as, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, 1.02 billion people on the planet struggle with hunger. Globalization has obliterated the ability of many poor countries to protect food staples such as corn, rice, beans and wheat with subsidies or taxes on imported staples. The abolishment of these protections has permitted the giant mechanized farms to wipe out tens of millions of small farmers, bankrupting many and driving them off their land. The wealthiest governments and corporations use institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization like pit bulls to establish economic supremacy.
The contrast between huge bonuses for managers at the top and the income of two-job workers below seems far too common in a globalized world. For three decades, the elite consensus of politicians and corporate leaders have insisted that third-world debts could not be put aside in a sort of bad debt reserve without betraying Globalism’s essential principles and moral obligations. These principles and obligations included an unwavering respect for the sanctity of international contracts. It took the same people about two weeks to abandon that sanctity and propose bailouts for their own far larger debts in 2008 and again in 2009 with the working class Americans footing the tab.
Storm Troopers, why?
Look at the extreme militarization of our police. Consider the increasing number of police on the roads and the military gear with which they are equipped. FBI statistics show that violent crime is at its lowest rate since 1964. The police that were preplaced in Pittsburgh for the G20 meeting looked like storm troopers from Star Wars movies. The armored vehicle that pulled out between the "Storm Trooper" looking police, looked surreal on American city streets. Why, in this time of budget crisis, are we spending money for such things?
Banker Bailouts, how’s that working for you?
The power elite grasps, even if we do not, the massive fraud and theft being undertaken. This is all to save a criminal class on Wall Street, and international speculators of the kinds who were executed in other periods of human history. They know the awful cost this plundering of state treasuries will impose on workers, who will become a permanent underclass. And, they also know that once this is clear to the rest of us, rebellion will no longer be a foreign concept. Our global economy, like our political system, has been hijacked by a tiny oligarchy, composed mostly of wealthy men who serve corporations.
Our corporate media perpetuates a left-right split, calling people who are protesting banker bailouts of Wall Street billionaires "Racist Tea Baggers" claiming they are wildly distorting the truth. Media outlets lead with propagandized stories to make people think a financial scam, a tax that will be forced on all the workers of the world, could in some way save our planet. This has already made Al Gore the first Carbon Billionaire. Gore has made over a billion dollars for himself pushing this new tax. I fail to understand how super- rich people making even more money will help anything.
Why We’re Running
During Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign Dr Paul suggested that if people really wanted to help him restore our republic, they should run for congress. Several brave individuals stepped forward and actually did something none of them probably ever imagined they would do; they ran for congress! It was an uphill battle, a late start for many of them, people that had never run campaigns before stepped up, often in opposition to the Republican Party many of them were running in.
This year in 2010 many of those brave souls are running again and many more have joined in the fight. Imagine if congress was made up of individuals that had held jobs, run businesses and actually understood the constitution, the idea that government was created to secure our rights! The possibility excites me. This year, there are several different groups all volunteering to help these candidates I am including a list of them so any of you can go to these sites and see if there is a candidate in your area you can volunteer to help. Even if you do not live near a candidate, you can still help.
How You Can Help
If you have an extra $5 send it; contact them and see if they have a phone bank set up so you can make calls and talk to people about the idea of freedom! If we all commit to $10 or 2 hours a week, we can make a difference in our country. Tea party patriots and 9/12 members are getting active and joining our cause. Lets take time to educate ourselves on the wisdom of a non-interventionist foreign policy as recommended by our founding fathers. Our numbers are growing and with it, our strength. We are winning small victories across the country. In Douglas County, Oregon, the County Commissioners wanted to add global warming legislation onto all land within the county, all 3 commissioners were in favor of it. On the night the commissioners were to vote, hundreds of citizens showed up to rally in protest. They voted it down!
Scott Brown in MA was the republican and Martha Coakley was a shoe in until the people got involved. A phone bank was set up, and people from around the Nation started to call in and support him. Scott Brown's win sends a loud message to congress. We need to make sure they understand that this message was not, “We want Republicans,” the message is, “We the people do not want more government controlling our lives.”
Most of the Liberty candidates are running entirely grassroots campaigns so join onto a team. There are so many ways you can help to get a Liberty candidate elected, even if you have no money and live far from them. Offer to manage their Wikipedia page, build one for them if they don't have one, monitor it to counter changes added by political opponents. Send “Tweets” to friends and neighbors about events where they will be speaking. Have a bake sale or bottle round up and donate the proceeds to them. What talents do you have? Do you make fliers? Make up fliers based on the information on their web page and send them the pdf file. Graphics artists, send them art to use for campaign signs or fliers. Do you build web pages? Have a server? Put together a chart showing the voting record of their opponent and send it to them. Has their opponent been involved in several scandals, or questionable fund raising activities? People have a right to know! Start a Facebook page or blog detailing the actions you feel are questionable, and send a link to the candidate so they can more easily stay abreast of their opponents actions. Is your English excellent? Volunteer to proof read or write speeches. All of these things can be done over the Internet and would free up time for the candidate.
We must force the Federal Government to return to its Constitutionally enumerated powers and restore our inalienable rights. Government’s main goal has become to preserve government, not the rights of the individual. Unless we, as individuals, join together and commit to work for freedom for everyone, our Government will continue encroaching into more areas of our lives. The latest attack is the healthcare bill. After the swing to the right to get Patriot and FISA passed, we swing to the left to get a national ID and health and financial records on everyone. Also, a huge new Government program “Cap and Trade,” looms ahead. We have ended up with the pendulum swinging back and forth taking our freedoms on each pass as one political party and then the other has taken power by making promises it had no intention of keeping. The party in power then quickly breaks those promises leaving people upset and active. Now is our opportunity, to finally get people to work together and forget the left/right nonsense of party politics. Won’t you help us?
Check out the different sites listing liberty candidates
http://gigibowman.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/hello-world/
http://americanbuilt.us/news/2010-Liberty-Candidates.shtml
www.libertyslate.com
http://www.rlc.org/endorsements/2010-endorsed-candidates/
http://www.retakecongress.com/
http://congressofhope.com/
www.Liberty-Candidates.org
Delia Lopez
US Congressional Candidate
www.dlopezforcongress.com
"In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution."
Thomas Jefferson
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Cap and trade?
Climate change is an issue that is currently causing quite a stir around the world. Many people are arguing for and against policies and taxes to help protect our planet. Right now one of the ideas in vogue is cap and trade. Where people are charged for using fossil fuels and rich corporations are paid for others burning of fossil fuels. Currently Al Gore has become the first carbon billionaire, he has made over a billion dollars selling carbon credits, and other very wealthy individuals have jumped on the band wagon, never to let a great money making scheme get by. Rothschild, Murdoch and most of t he very rich have bought into the carbon markets. Using the power of media they have convinced a massive section of the population to support a cap and trade scheme.
Politicians getting great donations from these big corporations vote to hit the population with more taxes, further draining the pockets of those already being hit hard by the recession. My big question is, how can a great way to make the really rich even richer help save anything? We need to stop this huge transfer of our earnings to the already wealthy so we as Oregonians can decide to conserve energy. Instead of us sending another billion to Al Gore or Mr Rothchild we should keep our earnings in our pockets. Maybe add a few inches of insulation to our homes? Or buy a hybrid car to commute back and forth to work. As has been proven by the MAX train the amount of money wasted on that train would have allowed hundreds of Oregonians to drive hybrid vehicles and cut emissions by far more. While allowing people to do what they see as being the most effective. The huge increase in property taxes to keep funding the MAX would have allowed Oregonians to insulate their homes, or replace their single pane windows. Instead of taxing the elderly out of their homes.
Oregonians have always shown their love for the environment, recycling at rates other cities would kill to match, even before it was mandated. An efficient and money making private industry had grown up around recycling. Until government interference put that industry out of business. Oregon Tilth spear headed an efficient private verification of organic farms in Oregon. They had an effective system worked out with stringent organic requirements. You knew when it was certified organic by Oregon Tilth that the land was tested and free of chemical contaminants. Until the government got involved. Then Monsanto and Dow lobbyists worked, and the stringent rules were relaxed. So now organic certification doesn't mean what it used to.
When government and corporations work together to help one another, they win and we lose. If you want to help rich people and large corporations make more money to buy more congressmen, support cap and trade . If you want to help keep our planet healthy act locally and think globally. If we all do what we can, our planet will benefit. Oregon led the way with voluntary recycling and other states followed our lead. The best way to lead is by being a good example. Not by using the force of government against the wishes of the individual.
Politicians getting great donations from these big corporations vote to hit the population with more taxes, further draining the pockets of those already being hit hard by the recession. My big question is, how can a great way to make the really rich even richer help save anything? We need to stop this huge transfer of our earnings to the already wealthy so we as Oregonians can decide to conserve energy. Instead of us sending another billion to Al Gore or Mr Rothchild we should keep our earnings in our pockets. Maybe add a few inches of insulation to our homes? Or buy a hybrid car to commute back and forth to work. As has been proven by the MAX train the amount of money wasted on that train would have allowed hundreds of Oregonians to drive hybrid vehicles and cut emissions by far more. While allowing people to do what they see as being the most effective. The huge increase in property taxes to keep funding the MAX would have allowed Oregonians to insulate their homes, or replace their single pane windows. Instead of taxing the elderly out of their homes.
Oregonians have always shown their love for the environment, recycling at rates other cities would kill to match, even before it was mandated. An efficient and money making private industry had grown up around recycling. Until government interference put that industry out of business. Oregon Tilth spear headed an efficient private verification of organic farms in Oregon. They had an effective system worked out with stringent organic requirements. You knew when it was certified organic by Oregon Tilth that the land was tested and free of chemical contaminants. Until the government got involved. Then Monsanto and Dow lobbyists worked, and the stringent rules were relaxed. So now organic certification doesn't mean what it used to.
When government and corporations work together to help one another, they win and we lose. If you want to help rich people and large corporations make more money to buy more congressmen, support cap and trade . If you want to help keep our planet healthy act locally and think globally. If we all do what we can, our planet will benefit. Oregon led the way with voluntary recycling and other states followed our lead. The best way to lead is by being a good example. Not by using the force of government against the wishes of the individual.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Wow it's working!
For some reason this blog was non operational and now it is working again! Wow, is this a coincidence? I have just begun to assemble a team and get organized for my 2010 congressional campaign against Earl Blumenauer. Checking links on my website after swapping over to the new 2010 top banner. Thank you April and Raymond! The people of this nation are waking up to the fact, that we have the power to restore our republic! I am very excited about this years elections, I am hoping congress gets the message, what message? We are mad as hell and we are not going to take it! We have to let them know that we will not allow them to spend our children into poverty, tax small businesses into bankruptcy while sending corporate welfare to big companies like Walmart! We will not allow them to take control of our health care to pay back the insurance companies that padded their campaign coffers and got them elected. Thank you for checking out my blog I will be here again, now that it's working! If you want to join our team let me know!
Delia
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