Before I get on to today's rant...
I don't know where the Peak Oil community gets its "The South is uninhabitable without Air Conditioning" schtick from - probably from Jimmy Kuntsler and the rest of his Middlebury College types (just teasing! sort of)... the weather here in Middle Tennessee is just as mild and as pleasant as can be. Yes there are some hot stretches, but nothing like the heat waves I experienced standing on a New York City subway platform in a suit and tie, waiting for the express. The winters are mild and short, spring and fall are delightful. Anyway... Here are a few shots of late March here in Tennessee...
The Barlett Pear tree in our back yard with the world's greatest horse, "Mike", in the background. I've had a lot of horses come through here, but none like "Mike" - he is a keeper. He was given to me as a 2 year old (Tennessee Walking Horse) "junk" horse by the previous owner of the farm. I don't know how he arrived at that decision, but it has worked out for me. Mike can best be described as a real life cross between Mr. Ed and Hidalgo.
Plum Blossom. I have 3 dwarf plum trees outside our barn that produce wonderfully.
OK, back to Oil, energy, and the markets. I have been away from the computer lately. Seems there is a big difference between blogging about self sufficiency and actually living it. Getting the farm ready for Spring is no small task. Babies are born, animals have to be processed, the garden has to get dug and plants started... I can tell you with great confidence that all of the petty mental diagnosis's de jour would be a thing of the past if their sufferers did this everyday...
But I digress...
West Texas Intermediate front month traded above $85 per barrel, and closed trading a dime or 2 off that number. Given that U.S. inventory and usage would seem to say, and have been saying, that Oil should be much cheaper... it would now appear that the U.S. is no longer "the axe" in the Oil market.
Of course, if you are lame brained member of the media, or worse, a politico... the culprit is those scum bag speculators. I mean, read that story. Talk about a desire to inflame the jury. Where is the story on the continuing slide in Oil imports into the U.S.? Can't run that one. Might have to deal with reality.
Oh, well.
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If you have been reading my stuff for a while, you know that I feel that the political Left and Right in the U.S. are the walking dead. Dysfunctional, mean-spirited, hypocritical in the extreme, this 2 headed, incestuous, siamese twin needs the other while simultaneously needing their respective throngs of true "believers".
I wrote this piece nearly 2 years ago. Recently, Chris Hedges, for whose intellect I have a great deal of respect, posted this article. Mr. Hedges has some very good points. Some others are the wide-of-the-mark drivel one must expect and tolerate from a "True Believer". Notice the accusatory tone of the article - its the Right and the Republicans that are the Fascists! While we, the noble and intellectually elite Left, are here to save the day... BS! Your "true believers" are just as non-sensical as the Tea Baggers by any and every measure.
Why does it have to be Fascism? Why can't it be Libertarianism? American Liberalism and what was passed for Conservatism are dead, as complete failures SHOULD BE. The "true believers" on BOTH sides have held the debate hostage with their constant barrage of pointing out the inconsistencies in the other folk's argument while frothing at the mouth with their own.
In truth, this is how political advantage is gained in our current system. You see, I think Fascism hasn't a snow ball's chance in hell here in the U.S. The U.S. is far, far more likely to break up into autonomous regions than to tolerate a Fascist government. We are coming apart at the seams with the current regulatory environment, we won't likely tolerate much more. Did I mention we don't have the ability to pay for it?
Folks like Chris Hedges are terrified to see how close they came, only to see their dreams of totalitarian Liberalism go down in the flames of Libertarian personal responsibility. Too bad, Chris. The gig is up. It was OIL that funded your group's bribes and pandering, just as it funded the Right. Then, with US$ hegemony as the world reserve currency and the currency in which Oil was priced, the international bond market continued to fund the 2 headed monster that your group is half of... but that is coming to an end.
America is NOT "yearning for Fascism". America is addicted to cheap Oil, cheap credit, and free social services - and like any addict deprived of its fix... it is going through the Detox Tremors at the moment, and that will continue for some time... until the people have been weened off the junk - the junk the 2 head monster has been pushing since FDR.