What R U Afraid of?
by BradfordIn recognition of common interests inspired by the return of TT's Joy, it behooves us to take a second look at some issues previously raised. We still have not found Osama and his fellow cave dwellers and we don't want American pansies scared of ghosts of terrorism. So in keeping with this macho spirit (macha if applicable when the PC police are around) should our focus really be on statistical climate data or those who distort it, or might we be better served by a thorough psychological analysis of GW advocates. To paraphrase our immortal Joy, what are you afraid of? Losing that ski vacation in Aspen? Not being able to show off your four wheel drive in snow storms? A few bald, overweight white guys sitting on oil company boards? Being overrun in northern Canada by American tourists seeking to swim and surf? Seeing America's intelligentsia play beach volleyball in Alaska with Sarah Palin? C'mon global warmists. Drop the hysteria over eternal summer. What are you afraid of anyway?
December 22nd, 2009 at 1:16 am
As the polar bears are forced to search further and further south for food, I am afraid I might hit one while driving at night in my expensive SUV.
Comment by Mung — December 22, 2009 @ 1:16 am
December 22nd, 2009 at 9:38 am
Mung:
Your SUV?
One of the many incidents that made me suspicious of the green movement was Nancy Pelosi. She jetted to Copenhagen at the end of the conference. Jets are her passion. She used air force jets (with AF pilots 
) to serve as her private means of ferry between DC and SF. The fact that Republicans did the same is no excuse to one willing to critique both parties. When enough RW point talkers like me objected to the huge carbon footprint these jets caused, she reluctantly gave up her toy. What phonies these people are.
Comment by Bradford — December 22, 2009 @ 9:38 am
December 22nd, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Here's another thing I'm afraid of:
Hegel's Science of Logic and Global Climate Change: A Philosophical Explanation Of An Environmental Crisis
Eeeowwwow! My head! HEGEL!?
Comment by Mung — December 22, 2009 @ 3:35 pm
December 22nd, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Thanks for the mention, Bradford. But I think I'm a rather poor example of anything other than semi-amused pragmatism.
I'm not afraid of corporate greedheads, filthy lucre, crooked bankers or Wall Street manipulators even in this Second Great Depression. They've already lost the game they were playing by taking their ponzi scheme too far. Now it's over, being afraid is a waste of time. It'll become completely obvious soon enough – everybody got left in the lurch.
I am actually somewhat excited by the prospect that it's finally falling apart, that in the end their own petty greed thwarted their NWO before it could get set in stone. Great opportunity to ratchet ourselves more sustainably toward the future, maybe even figure out (at long last) that you really can't buy a stairway to heaven. Heck, I've even enjoyed getting a chance to bait the Nuclear Zombies again 30 years later during this last year of the 'aughts. Being a large thorn in their radioactive side is great fun as they're vying for the entire energy development pot of gold for their lame-brained (entirely fictional) "renaissance." With the same lies, the same arrogance, the same More Sciencey Than Thou pretensions and plastic promises. Ha! What fools these mortals be.
Just clean up our act. Because we must. It's too late to stop climate change, the politicians are merely stalling now in hopes the last brick doesn't fall on their watch. We need to start making and implementing workable survival plans.
I'm not afraid of the weather. Must come from all those years in Tornado Alley. If it's got your name on it, there's nowhere to hide. If not, you can confidently stand in its path to embrace it and it'll jump right over you. If the water's rising, move uphill. If the ice melts, stop wasting and polluting your fresh water supplies, for God's sake! Plant heat tolerant crops, air condition your greenhouses, install soaker hoses, quit eating chemically polluted and genetically engineered livestock, thereby courting plagues while turning yourselves into obese, infertile, cancer-ridden cripples. If humans are too stupid to do that much we deserve to go extinct. The world won't miss us a bit when we're gone.
All the science vs religion crap is just more designer distraction tactics – notice how the decibel level goes up with every tidbit of incoming bad news, and all the news is bad these days. You surely don't think that's accidental, do you? Turn off the TV, it's killing us – on purpose. Believers shouldn't be cowering in corners whining about some fictional "War on Christmas," they should be fearlessly leading this stewardship /sustainability crusade, not using it as justification for more greed, irresponsibility, denial and cultural warfare. Surprise me.
It's the sciencey Chicken Littles using fear and deception to try and force necessary changes. When the lies get revealed, the necessity gets occluded. That's not accidental either. You should be using courage and honesty to inspire necessary changes. Either way the equation boils down to change or die. The status quo must go.
Embrace the issues and run with them, or get out of the way because the race is on. Nobody can stop the changes from coming (a hard rain's gonna fall, denial is not a river in Egypt, insert platitude of preference here). Greatest fear or most welcomed opportunity is the only choice we get.
Comment by Joy — December 22, 2009 @ 5:16 pm
December 22nd, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Hi Joy,
I missed your oratories.
Thank you for being here.
You wrote…
We haven't had a working TV in our house for years.
Our children used to complain. They have grown now and It now has become a matter of pride. My eighteen year old son is typical in that he played High School football and plays hours of video games. He also reads books on an average of one every six weeks. He can also hold his own in a debate on the Federalist Papers.
All of our grown children are very much the individuals with strong opinions. They often don't agree with me. I am proud of them all.
Fortunately, we live near the Great Lakes. The water is pretty clean now because of the Zebra Mussel invasion.
I understand they eat Asian Carp in China (it is only a matter of time for that infestation to happen). We should be better off than most.
Comment by Thought Provoker — December 22, 2009 @ 5:44 pm
December 22nd, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Hi,TP. I tossed the television down the basement stairs in 1976. Only watch if we get stuck in a motel or visiting grandma who only watches Fox – serves to remind us why we don't have television.
Divide and conquer, oldest trick in the oligarchy book. As long as they've got everybody fighting amongst themselves over bullsh*t, they won't be showing up outside the halls of power with guillotines in tow. I'm planning to repaint mine – a bit chipped and crusty from the many years as a Halloween stage prop – and rent it out to teabagger protesters. Somebody might as well get some use out of it.
There's worse trash fish than carp to make a sandwich out of. After they confiscated Colorado's entire western drainage basin for fountains, golf courses and lawns in the desert, you've just gotta wonder about the ostriches among us. During our drought a few years ago Georgia and South Carolina drained all our highland reservoirs for golf courses and lawns (and soybeans for hogs). While we got severe restrictions. Now that the drought is over nobody I know is planning to go back to chemical lawns from their natural groundcover plantings, victory gardens and rain barrels.
I'm going to quadruple my solar drying capacity next spring so I can take advantage of the neighbor's excess and great bulk deals at the Farmer's Market. Already have a local source for organic oats and amaranth, am planting hard red winter wheat on the terraces of the 2nd/4th hole fairway (disc golf). Dried food lasts basically forever, though the apples and pears I dried didn't even make it to Thanksgiving because they got eaten immediately by my ravenous crew. I may have to go back to what the original owners did with this property – corn in the bottomland to mix with the cinnamon pears for mash to make high-dollar moonshine in the old creekside wood-fired still (400 gallon tank!). Have a shade tree mechanic willing to make our vehicles and tiller run on what doesn't bring in good money and/or trades… ยง;o)
As of March we've only 4 more years on the mortgage. Which is through the previous owner who lets us be late if we have to be. If I can manage the necessary fencing and construction, hope to have some milk goats and chickens soon. We did get a puppy after our sweet Lucy died last March, a German Shepradore named Starfish. Who is already proving her worth in keeping the bears at bay, had five of them over the summer! Then all I need is a watch-goose to protect the chickens…
Not all the way to self-sufficient yet, but well on our way. Then it'll be here, up and running, for the kids and grandkids when they need the refuge. That's how my parents' families got through the '30s depression, we can do for ours too. And then the knowledge and skills don't die when we do. That's a nice goal to have at my age!
Comment by Joy — December 22, 2009 @ 6:40 pm