This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land

How often my mind wanders to the subject of our nation, its future, and our future as her people. I have been reading the writings of Thomas Jefferson and getting new insight to the problems of our country and why its happening. It’s no secret that I was an avid supporter of the Ron Paul presidential campaign. I donated, I met at meetup groups, and I worked for the campaign; all of this was done as people insisted that I was “wasting my time”. They adamantly endeavored to show my folly in that my vote would be wasted. “Go vote for the preacher”, they advised. “You’re a Christian, aren’t you?”, as if my friends jumped off a bridge I should do the same thing (and besides he’s more electable, right?).

The fallacy of a remark such as this shows how well our government run schools have been indoctrinating young minds for generations. In other words, we pick who we vote for based on emotions and those emotions are from a lack of education. We don’t look at the platform of the potential candidate in comparison to the Constitution. A president is not the Dictator of the country, he cannot make laws, and he cannot go to war without Congress declaring war-that is according to the constitution. But somehow we have begun to think of the office of President of the USA as the leader of the country, who can change the course of the country. Long ago has it been forgotten that we are the government and that the direction we choose is the direction government goes. So now we busily follow the leader like sheep to the slaughter. All the while playing government with our frivolous votes and we go on thinking we will be able to get up and have that moca Java every morning and that our existence, while uncertain, will still be safe because we live in the Greatest Country on earth…right?

While it is true I am a Christian, and as such, put my faith in Jesus Christ to preserve me even unto death; I also am an American. As an American, I (currently) have the freedom to worship however I choose. It is the dictation of my conscience that I put my faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But my consciences also demands that as Christ died to free us from the bondage of the Law, so also have thousands of men died to give us freedom from laws that force a religion on us. They died to give us a land of Liberty, and Liberty is more important than anything else which government can provide.

While our founding father, James Madison, was or claimed to be, Christian, he, as the rest of the members (Jefferson, Adams, etc.) held that even though the incorporation of Christian morals into this new government was a well meaning plight, it could just as easily be reversed to that which Jerusalem suffered under the hands of the power hungry scribes and farcies during the time of the crucifixion. Madison said: “The experience of the United States is a happy disproof of the error so long rooted in the unenlightened minds of well-meaning Christians, as well as in the corrupt hearts of persecuting usurpers, that without a legal incorporation of religious and civil policy, neither could be supported. A mutual Independence is found most friendly to practical religion, to social harmony, and to political prosperity”.

America is being “dumbed down” in order to advance Socialism. Look at both, Republicans and Democrats-or the establishment of- and you will find blatant disregard for The Constitution and contempt towards its power to restrain government abuse. The Constitution is there to restrain the government and prevent it from overstretching its powers, but this only works if the people act as a check and balance to the system. This is a system of self government but only if we govern ourselves but if we take a back seat and say “there is nothing I can do” or “I am too busy right now to worry about that stuff”, we will soon wake up and find ourselves homeless on the land our fathers conquered and unable to change its course.

On one hand you hear the Republicans complain about “Earmarks” but they neglect the fact that the size of government (with regard to bureaucracy, debt, welfare state, warfare state…) all of it, has tripled since 2000. What do we have to show for it? Nothing, a system that is going bankrupt, puts our nation at risk, and prints fiat money which at this point is worth about 4 pennies per dollar only if you compare it to the rest of the world.

On the other hand you hear Democrats complain that the rights of individuals are being taken away, then they nominate the most Socialist individual they could. One thing that we have learned from Hitler and Stalin is that Socialism strips all rights of the individual and the individual is the “Cash Cow” for the State.

I just learned that California has mad it illegal to home school your kids, thereby removing any rights a parent may have over the minds of their children. What’s worse is that is that it wasn’t even voted for by the people of the state, but mandated by a judge. The Judge said: “Parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children”. With a stroke of a judicial pen, homeschooling parents in California became common criminals that could be prosecuted and jailed. This then makes the children of that state a “Ward of State” and striping the rights of parents to prevent indoctrination of the pliable minds of children. Both the Republican and Democratic Establishments are working for a Socialist state no matter what their talking head on Fox, or on the Talk radio tells you. Once your eyes are open you can see the propaganda both sides use. Once they strip us of OUR CONSTITUTION, they will begin to burden us to pay for the “Privilege to Live”.

While I must maintain my trust in the Almighty, I also must maintain that we should not assume we Christians have it all figured out. By this I mean that people assume the rapture is going to happen so soon that they stop fighting for freedom because its easier and when they are raptured they don’t have to worry about it. When Jesus first came the going consensus was that he would establish a kingdom and everything would be perfect from then on. This however was a miss interpretation of scripture and they believe it would be a literal kingdom with buildings and such, and never thought about the fact that it could be a kingdom of our hearts. Therefore, it is not wise to sit back and do nothing about the state of our country.

Read the declaration of Independence and you will see that the only purpose of government is to preserve liberty, that’s it. How they do that is up to the people. But liberty cannot be removed in order to preserve it. You will also se that government can only get its power from the governed.
Because the Republican Establishment has forgotten what conservatism really is (Conserving maybe!? Non-interventionist foreign policy –like Jefferson advocated, Small government –so we can control it, personal responsibility –so we don’t have to pay for others to sit on their behinds) I have decided that unless Ron Paul comes back as a Republican candidate, I am changing parties, most likely for good.

As a matter of principle, and so far, the only act I can do for my country, I will be voting Libertarian from now on. Liberty must be preserved; security and prosperity will come once it is preserved.
Many will say again that I am throwing my vote away, I say I am preserving Democracy by not sheepishly falling in line and following the leader and doing what everyone else is doing. So many people voted for particular candidates during the primary for no other reason then, they perceived this candidate would win. Now look none of them won and we are left with a candidate that stands against everything I believe is uniquely American. Now we have two Socialists running for office. We have an apparent racist, welfare loving Socialist, and a war monger who wishes to be in Iraq for another hundred years, further taxing American Citizens so he and the companies involved can become wealthy off our backs. Now Iran is looming and with our $9 Trillion national debt and the fed dropping the interest rates at the drop of a hat (and by the way that’s a bad thing…that’s another post), can we afford another war. How will we find enough people to fight a pre-emptive war designed to create fear that Americans wont be safe unless this happens. This actually does the opposite, by making enemies of not only Iran but also the rest of the world as they watch us impose our will on nations around them, they will fear our coming to them.

People, please wake up! Educate yourselves to what Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, James Madison and others said about this new country and how it should operate and how the people should hold government and its officials with distrust in order to preserve Liberty for all.
I hope someday I can make a difference for Liberty in our country. I am afraid that because people have been indoctrinated with “I’ll get you before you get me” and they think it is a noble principle because we will impose Liberty on the rest of the world…and as a result they removed it.

It may be too late for our country.

WOOHOO I HAVE BROOD!

Honey Bees

As the Title suggests there has been a development in my beekeeping department. After stalling the nuc hive two (the Dark brown hive) drastically reduced in size and number of workers. It has stayed this way for weeks. I had not been able to find the queen and I was starting to really worry about the hive because I couldnt see brood. I went back to the hive this morning and found out that I have brood. Which means they made a new queen. They have about 2 frames of honey and are working on more.

• Hives #1 and #2

Rabbits

We have had a litter of bunnies born a week and a half ago. Five of those little guys.

Farming:

I started preparing the Pumpkin patch today. I got a lot to do yet...I need to find a truckload of horse manure and till that in but I am sure I can get that pretty easy.

We also had some Volunteer Wheat grow up where the dogs used to be (it was from their bedding we gave them over the winter). I decided to harvest it. But I dont think there is enough do much so I was thinking about using the seed and replanting it...not sure if I can get another harvest this year...( Does anyone know the answer to this question? We live in Southern Missouri and its the end of June...is there enough time to replant wheat and get a harvest before winter?) I'd like to so we could have cereal or flour. I will for sure be planting some next year. I hope to plant Oats and Wheat. Also I hope to plant a big batch of Red Clover for the rabbits and the bees.

Well I am sure you can tell I wrote this out in a hurry. I plan on having a more philosophical discussion next post about one of my most interested subjects...Politics.

Take Care.

Music and Eggs anyone?

This time of year, when most people are going to the lake or the creek to get cool, we here at the Myers family (South), we are gearing up for festivals! All summer and fall there are various opportunities for an Old-Time fiddler to play to his hearts content…not to mention to do a lot of Square Dancing! I am not very good at it yet but man, it’s a blast! No I am not talking about people in all exactly alike uniforms getting out and looking like a some western swing kind of thing, I am talking about getting out on the dance floor, in the middle of a town street, or in a Gym that could host 5 basket ball games simultaneously…and making mistake after mistake and falling over ourselves…but have a blast every minute!

June 20th is the next big square dance that we will be going to. We generally camp out at the civic center lawn, dance till about 10pm, and then Jam till 2 or 3 in morning…or when everyone leaves. Then we get up, drink some coffee and do it all over again. Around 1 to 2 we go out to a River (the name evades me right now) and it has a big spring that flows into it. We swim the river down stream till we get to the spring then go over to it (it’s in a small eddie) then jump in and scream all the way out.

I thought I would give you a little taste of this place buy posting a video. This is from last year I hope you enjoy it.

And since I am in the Music mood I thought I would post another video I recently recorded. I didn’t have my good video camera with me but I wanted to record this tune…its called Rattle Snake and it is played in A Cross-tune (AEAE). Sorry about the poor quality audio…hope you can still hear it.




I also just learned a new tune on the Banjo. I am not a real Clawhammer player…I just try to make it look and sound like it. I wish there was someone here that could teach me the technique but for now I will just make do. This tune is called Colored Aristocracy and I learned from a DVD video that Steve Overby from Alabama sent me. This video was of a jam session in which a fella in the jam played this…not sure of his name. Hope you enjoy.

This tune is a tune called Cherokee Shuffle.


We are incubating some 3 dozen chicken eggs now. We hoped the Bannies would set on them and hatch them for us but they hadn’t seem to want to do that…that is until after we purchased an incubator and was into the process a few days. Now, there are two of them setting eggs. We are hoping to get some young chickens to replace these that we bought. Due to the fact that unless they are being given a supplement they wont lay. So I think they are just too old and we got taken by the guy we bought them from.

Update

Tweedle, Tweedle, Tweedle, and Cockadoodle doo! Those are the sounds I hear this cool sunny spring morning. But the Song birds and Chickens aren’t the only sounds which I hear; the stiff cool breeze and the playful skirmishes of squirrels, the lizards scurrying about and the ringing of the wind chimes signal that springs grip is soon to be loosened to make way for a boisterous summer. The temperatures are reaching upper 80’s and low 90’s now and the daytime heat resembles more of a summer day than that of spring.

As I sit here at home and ponder what to write, I am filled with questions for the future. These questions include, but are not limited to, “well now that the bugs are beginning to over take my garden and my companion planting method doesn’t appear to be working or I did something wrong, do I start buying the organic sprays?” or another question may be, “do I incubate some of these eggs to make new younger chicks that can lay eggs without the special supplement to make them lay?”. With all of these questions, depending on the answer to each, come with a whole new set of more questions…like “if I am going to incubate the eggs, where do I get an Incubator?”

While I enjoy what I am doing and I did expect some hang ups, I didn’t however, realize everything would have a hang up. It is somewhat disappointing.

But then I am reminded that everything has a purpose and with that purpose comes responsibility. A person who is responsible knows that short term disappointments are negated by long term benefits. A person acting responsibly would also know to persist in the trial until the goal is achieved, assuming that it is an achievable goal (which a responsible person should learn before getting involved in a given venture).

So as I work out these issues, I am thinking about tonight. Thursdays are market night at the Ozark Main Street Market and I need to prepare the goods to take them up there. More and more I think that it would be good to attempt to sell here at the house to save gas, but I don’t get to town much as it is, this gives me a reason to do so. Normally I go out and grab a cooler and pick Spinach and Leaf Lettuce and put in the cooler as I pick to retain crispness and get the Radishes and that gets me at least gas money. But this time we don’t have Spinach (our cash crop apparently) because little bugs have eaten thousands of tiny holes in every leaf not to mention that they were bolting (going to seed) and where pretty much done anyway. We don’t mind eating those leaves but others would.

So what do we sell tonight? The question demands a suitable answer as we at least need to cover our gas (unlike last week) if not do better then that.

I’ve got to start thinking of some ideas of things to sell. These could be anything from crafts to quick growing plants…I don’t care. Just need a variety. The more stuff at the stand the more your booth stands out. Anyone having Ideas of things that are easy enough to do in one day let me know. I thought about firing up the Forge but I am not good enough at it to turn out work very quick…takes for ever to get something you can make mostly because I don’t have the stock that is ready and I have to make it ready…beating it to death. I’ve thought about making signs or plaques that have routed words on it…but not sure that would go over very well. So I am currently out of Ideas beyond what to grow next year as I have been given many Ideas by customers.

A note of optimism and excitement (for Brandy and I anyway) though we were planning on getting a honey extractor maybe next year or this year if we thought we were going to get any honey our first year. However, while we were at the May Ozarks Bee Keepers Association meeting last month we were told that the club had an extractor that they needed to get rid of. Now there were probably 50 or more people there and they heard the same thing we did. However, I began asking questions about it in succession and we ended up sealing the deal before anyone else could. Now I have been perusing the catalogues for an extractor and haven’t found them cheaper (for a cheapie) than $250 plus there was a $75 shipping charge. Most of the better models, which were what someone would really need for anyone having more then one hive, were between $500 and $600. This model we got was retailed at $650 when they got it 6 or so years ago, but we paid $125 and I picked it up so no shipping charges! Its hand Crank (sustainable….yes!) and it holds two frames at a time and the baskets rotate to extract the other side (the cheapo’s you have to pull the frames out and rotate them…messy!).

I had someone give me 3 round bails of hay that I can used to control weeds. For anyone interested, I use newspaper and lay it on the ground and put hay on top of the straw. It’s a bit time consuming but once its there its works all year and when you’re done all you do is till it in adding to your organic matter in the soil.

There are a few things going on in the background here, which I am not sure I am ready to reveal but let’s just say it’s to help us be self-sustaining and I will only give you a clue with a couple pictures.

I have begun to designate a day to a particular job. I have so many projects going I don’t know what to work on first. While some times I don’t want to work on some of them, they still need to be worked on. So I decided to write down on a day to do a specific job. Every Monday I do, such and such till it’s finished. This way I don’t forget about all I have to do…and I don’t get overwhelmed by the enormity of the work ahead of me.

Well below was a Rattler that I found on our place. Never found one this big and it certainly isnt a normal occurance to find one period.

Well to leave you I will say that famous Ozarks saying; I will talk to you again later, Lord willin’ and the Creek don’t rise!