I'm thinking the bib thing might be a good idea as well.

You just managed to totally piss off 88 MILLION Boomers. Apparently this player of 153-dimensional chess has seriously forgotten the generation to whom he just fucked over. I think it's time for a reminder. He's pissed off the Boomers, he's pissed off women, he's pissed off gays, he's pissed off progressives, he's pissed off MM users. Tell, me, other than the "party-before-country" crowd and Level One "thinkers," who the HELL does he have left? This son of a bitch JUST lost the election.

"We welcome Democrats of all stripes, along with other progressives who will work with us to achieve our shared goals. While the vast majority of our visitors are Democrats, this web site is not affiliated with the Democratic Party, nor do we claim to speak for the party as a whole.

Democratic Underground would not be possible without the participation of like-minded individuals from across the country and, indeed, from around the world. The content for the site is provided by people who feel that their views are not represented by the conservative "mainstream" media in the U.S. We accept article submissions from those on the left who wish to write, so that DU represents a variety of progressive viewpoints. We have a particular appreciation for satire and humor.

This is a reminder to those who claim THIS IS A SITE ONLY FOR DEMOCRATS!!!!11111!!!!!!! Open debate is healthy and necessary to keep DU from becoming nothing more than an echo chamber -- something I am convinced the Administrators of the site do NOT wish. It is clear that there is a divide among posters on DU regardless of whether they're Democrats or not. Resorting to "Yer either fer us or agin us" should be above the posters on DU.

Peace,
LTH

I think it's apparent to most of us that the current system is not working to the benefit of We the People and that we are, clearly, well on our way to becoming a fascist nation. Virtually all legislation is geared to benefit the multi-nationals at the expense of the poor and middle class and our elected "representatives" represent only the monied interests. They cart us out every two years for the dog-and-pony show laughingly called elections and promptly forget about us in between. I just keep thinking of a quote from Frank Zappa:

"The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater."

The Founders handed us a perfectly good form of Democracy and each generation has been charged with maintaining it. This isn't he first time in our history that our form of government has been challenged nor will it be the last. The questions is, as the current stewards, what do WE do?

I would like to hear from DUers about what they think We the People can do to take back our Democracy and take back our country. And as the originator of this thread I get to be first.

1. Take the Blinders Off. Understand our peril as it is and not as you'd like it to be. The two-party system as it stands has been severely compromised. Staying within the confines of the rules at DU, the Democratic Party needs purged of the corporate cronies and replaced with representatives who will actually represent us. The only way this is going to happen is from the bottom up. It's up to us to hold our candidates' feet to the fire and if they don't represent us, find someone who does.

2. Join the Sustainability Movement. Learn to grow your own food, cook from scratch, can and preserve, shop at thrift stores and yard sales, sew, weave, knit, and fix stuff that's broken. We used to know how to do that but we've been TRAINED to be a consumer nation. There's an old saying that (I think) came about during the Depression: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." The more independent we become, the more of our own money we get to keep and the less money we shovel up to The Masters.

3. Start or Join a Community Alliance Group In Your Area. This is an idea I've had rolling around in my head for awhile and this year I've finally committed to trying to implement it. The Community Alliance is simply the residents of a particular neighborhood getting together for mutually-beneficial activities. Our first event is a Neighborhood Yard Sale. Our next event is a Neighborhood Watch Meeting followed by a Fourth of July Firework Display and Pot Luck. Those are just openers but, eventually, I envision things like neighbors holding workshops in their area of expertise or getting together a barter list wherein neighbors can barter goods and services with one another. Once again it's about independence through resource sharing, saving money and not feeding the corporate coffers.

I have lots more but the idea is for DUers to offer their suggestions.

Now you.

These headlines appeared in GD, just this morning. This is ONE day. Honest to goddess, how the hell are we supposed to ignore this? There is no defense for any of this though there is a CLEAR explanation.

Payroll-Tax Break Said to Be Discussed by Obama Aides Amid Slowing Economy
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-08/p...

Obama food safety chief and former Monsanto lawyer - Food safety chief defends raw milk raids
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu...

FCC chairman Julius Genachowski agrees to remove Fairness Doctrine from rulebook
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/06/08/fcc-... /

Obama Eyes Ex-Banker for Consumer Chief
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-08/o...

Meet Your New Pot Dealer: Big Pharma
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june032...

Have we reached critical mass yet?

Edited for clearer title. This is NOT a Weiner's weener thread.

Dunlap is actually on the way to Kings Canyon NP off of Hwy. 180. There is a wild cat compound there. You can see the sign on the East side of the Hwy., but as far as I know, there's only one sign so you have to keep your eyes open. I have yet to stop there but I've spoken to others who have who tell me it was a fascinating place.

From the website:

Project Survival's Cat Haven is an innovative park dedicated to the preservation of wild cats. It specializes in education and is engaged in both captive and range country conservation.

<skip>

Founded in 1993 with the purchase of 100 scenic acres just west of King's Canyon National Park the Cat Haven offers guided tours of some of the rarest cats in the world. It also promotes grass-root level support for range country conservation through Project Survival, a 501 (c) (3) organization.

This is a non-profit group that relies solely on donations.
Admission is $9.00 for adults
Children 5-12: $6.00
Seniors 62 and over: $7.50


http://www.cathaven.com/

stop by and see the Foresiere Underground Gardens. With all the talk about sustainability and micro-climates, it's interesting how those before us already had grasped this concept. This is a fascinating tour. There is a ballroom, bedrooms, 90-year-old citrus trees bearing 7 different types of citrus fruits and so much more. Check out the website.

California Historical Landmark No. 916. A Sicilian immigrant, Baldassare Forestiere, dug out this site BY HAND over a period of 40 years.

From the website:

- A hand-built network of underground rooms, courtyards and passageways reminiscent of the ancient catacombs.
- Unique fruit producing trees, shrubs, and vines growing underground -- some over 90 years-old.
- Ancient Roman architecture - arches, vaults and stone-built walls.
- Underground micro-climates -- temperature variations of 10 to 20 degrees


http://www.undergroundgardens.com /

in my neighborhood. For the last 3 years I've organized something called a Neighborhood Plant Swap wherein people from the neighborhood offer up plants from their own yards (via thinning out/changing landscaping, etc.) and swapping them out for plants from neighbors doing the same thing.

Once a year our city has something called "Operation Clean Up." Basically, you throw out any non-toxic materials (tree trimmings, old wood, even appliances, etc.) onto the curb and the city comes by and picks it all up for free. It saves residents from having to go to the dump and is an incentive to clean up all at the same time. Anyway, this year I've organized a Neighborhood Yard Sale the week after Operation Clean Up. In the flier I passed around to the neighborhood I proposed the idea of sort of a neighborhood alliance wherein we can expand community projects. Here are a few ideas I and others have proposed:

- Re-establishing our Neighborhood Watch Program
- Starting a bartering system wherein people in the neighborhood swap goods and services with one another.
- Craft Fair - Selling our own hand-made items without having to pay Booth Rental Fees.
- Free seminars from neighbors in their areas of expertise. I'll be doing two: Canning/Preserving and Square Foot Gardening.
- Monthly Neighborhood Pot Lucks.

This is all still very new and I'm not sure what kind of participation we'll have at first but I'm hoping it will be a movement that will grow in time.

Maybe not EXACTLY what you were talking about but it's sort of our version of a co-op.

LTH

which is actually a very lovely place, I invite you to check out the Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture. It's literally out in the middle of farmland but it's well worth the drive. We were there yesterday and it was just amazing. The art is from a private collection of several hundred pieces and they're rotated every 4 months or so. They also have a great in-house reference library. I could have spent days there. The whopping admission price is $5.00.

http://clarkcenter.culturalnews.net /

Currently, part of the exhibit is at California State University, Fresno displaying Japanese fighting regalia -- helmets, swords, and magnificent costumes. No admission fees.

Just one of thousands of amazing things we have here in our much-maligned San Joaquin Valley.

have always had 2 enemies. Most revolutions, at their inception, encompass a small percentage of the total population. In our own American Revolution, only about 20% of Americans (the rich, white, male, land-owning ones) in Colonial times wanted to break away from England. The enemy was the British and those colonists who advocated for the status quo. The social changes of the 60's came about with only about 10% of the Boomers and WWII generation participating. Our enemies then were a well-entrenched "establishment" if you will AND the rest of the Boomers and WWII generation screaming all about how we were long-haired, dope-smoking hippies. We were of course, but we also found time to dedicate to social change. And we succeeded.

Sit back if you choose, but please don't get in the way of those of us who intend to show up for the fight. And no bad vibes!

I've been looking at vaporizers and the CHEAPEST ones I can find are running at $150.00. I'm told the "good ones" will cost me upwards of "600.00." Cool-looking pipes too!

who gets paid LOTS of money to push the corporate line and right now the multi-nationals are quaking in their boots because one of their main sources of revenue in the ME is in danger of (GASP!) Democracy!

Btw, this debate is as old as history itself. The question has always been, do we continue to accept the status quo or fight for freedom/democracy, not knowing how far it will go as, by definition, revolution is unstable and dynamic. In our own country, Alexander Hamilton argued your side, but then again, he was an elitist.

So, I'm still on this self-sufficiency kick (a.k.a. sustainability movement) and I thought it might be a good idea for DUers to offer up some tried-and-true home remedies for common problems. Requisite Disclaimer: MOST DUERS AREN'T MEDICAL DOCTORS AND ONE SHOULD ALWAYS CONSULT ONE'S PHYSICIAN BEFORE APPLYING ANY REMEDY.

Before Western Medicine and Big Pharma we had home remedies for common ailments. With claims from the government and pharmaceuticals we were trained to believe that the old remedies were superstition and not based on science. We've been so brainwashed that virtually any ailment now has us running to the pharmacy instead of running to our pantries and/or gardens.

All contributions are welcome. Here's a starting place:

Athlete's Foot. Soaking the affected area in a solution of 1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon of very warm water for about 20 minutes will kill the fungus. It's one of MANY uses for vinegar.

Bug Bite. Make a paste of baking soda and water and apply it to the bite. Something in the baking soda draws out the irritants (usually saliva) and soothes the itch.

Arthritis Pain. A paste of Wintergreen Oil and cayenne pepper applied to the area. The cayenne pepper inhibits the "pain" signal to the brain. CAUTION: Wintergreen Oil is toxic and should be used sparingly. Asthmatics should NEVER use it.

Hydrogen Peroxide. Disinfectant -- much cheaper than Bactine.

Your turn.

It has become painfully clear that our country, our world, is heading towards a sort of neo-feudalism and 98% of us aren't on the receiving end for the goodies. How many times has this scenario repeated itself throughout history? The difference, of course, is that in the past, the “takeover” was always within a particular country or region. Never before has it been global. Welcome to the New World Order. It's what they've had in mind since The New Deal. The election of Ronald Reagan (with the help of the Religious Right Loonies) enabled “them” to set the gears into motion.

There was a time in this country that The People/The Congress/The Senate/The White House/The Supreme Court/Rule of Law/Sanity was a given. We were secure. The “Good German” syndrome could NEVER happen to us. Then there was the Coup of 2000. With encouragement from the Mainstream Media (our illustrious “Fourth Estate”) and our elected “representatives,” the Great Conspiracy could very possibly result in the ultimate demise of American Democracy.

So how do we, the peasants, survive the Clashing of the Gods? We turn to history and enact those techniques by which our ancestors survived previous oligarchies. We become self-reliant and by “self,” I mean community.

What is “community?” Community is whatever the participants establish is community. In my case, I'm attempting to establish a community made up of residents within a specific geographical boundary. Having said that, the possibilities for the definition of “community” is endless.

Why “community? Because it's more manageable and isn't it the essence of Democracy? An essential bonus is that, each action we take that relies on one another is commerce we do not give the oligarchy.

Here are some ideas I've been working on in my own community:

Community Plant Sales I've lived in a lot of different neighborhoods and a commonality among most of them was Spring Outdoor Cleaning/Planting. The process necessitates elimination of that which is in overabundance to make room for that which is desired. Example: Every year I have an overabundance of ferns, geraniums and begonias. My neighbors have an overabundance of tomato or pepper starts but their garden is in need of annuals. I use peppers and tomatoes every year for my veggie garden. We trade. Does it get any simpler and no one had to go to Lowe's to accomplish it.

Community Yard Sales Participants benefit by pooling resources and making what would normally be a singular yard sale by making it an “event.” Advertise for free by putting it on Craig's List, the social networking sites, and community calendars.

Once "my community” is established:

Make available:
- A List of Services for Barter List and/or a List of Services for Hire List
- Seminars on subjects ranging from Square Foot/Inch Gardening to tax laws – whatever topic in which members of the community are interested.

**

These are just starting places. I confess I've been disappointed in the past when I've put a considerable amount of thought/research/effort into a post only to see it quickly sink to the bottom. But I'm trying again and my sincere wish is that Duers read my much-worked-on missive and offer their contribution.