Let Them Eat Form 1040

LeeAnnG has a good story to tell, in response to that bitter pill of learning that you've been swindled for 30 years and not being able to prove it.-ed.
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Misguided Notions Submitted by LeeAnnG on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 1:06pm.
I have a friend who considers himself to be a "conservative." He is aware that I am a leftwing progressive, so we talk little about politics. However, he has "jokingly" made some disparaging remarks about liberals.

The weird thing about this guy is that he moved back to the land and supported himself and a large family by growing his own food and raising goats. It was not enough, so he got food stamps, even though he had a teaching degree and could have supplemented the farming that way. In later life, he became physically disabled and accepted government assistance, which he still gets.

The other night he told me that he would have had a great agricultural business but the government reneged on its loan when Reagan came into office.

None of this makes any sense for a self-proclaimed conservative except that he buys into the whole "guns, god, gays, and patriotism" notions promoted by the rightwing noise machine.

Obama was right about the bitterness, the attitude of working Americans toward the "other" (including gays, migrants and other ethnic groups), and religion. Rev. Wright was absolutely spot on about America's role in racial injustice and invading or interfering with other countries. But Clinton will continue to make fault of virtue, frame Obama's words into negatives, and hand over an entire campaign agenda to the Republicans in order to get back into the White House.

If my friend, who is not an ignorant or uneducated man, can believe the garbage spewed by the rightwing radicals, talk radio, and Fox "news," how can we expect that working class people who have been oppressed and neglected by the powers that be to see through it.

Where Have the Joiners Gone? Babies go boom-boom!

Galen is probably right, but even most of the "instant-gratification-high-schoolers" that I know can be extremely resourceful in a pinch; they'll get used to it. They're young. I'm more worried about the near-retirement baby boomers and the old people.-ed.

By Galen April 13th, 2008 12:27 pm:

The hard times are coming folks. No doubt about it.

I know what it takes to break open the ground to plant a garden by hand. For a 20x 20 plot it was three eight hour days of back wrenching labor. I finally broke down and used the community gardens rototiller.

Then was the endless hours (pleasantly spent) weeding with my then wife. No pesticides. Fish fertilizer.

The payoff? The most wonderful, flavorful best tasting fruits and veggies I have ever had. Store bought food PALES, literally, in comparison.

I also have hard won skills in woodworking and some general carpentry.

Will I make it through the coming crash? Probably. Better than the vast majority of the population of the large west coast city I live in. But I am willing to help my neighbors. I even know many of them by name. And I have friends of the same mind set, but with differing skills. We should get by. But it won’t be easy.

The people I truly pity are the children and teens of today who have never known want. Only instant gratification.

They will suffer. Badly.