A summary in the midst of Winter.

Hello Evanstonians...

Right now I'm in Northern Michigan finishing up renovation on a bank-owned house Eric Lieberman and I bought last August.  The dust has nearly settled (but not quite) and we're happy not to have to don masks to protect our lungs from the moldy dry wall and rug we tore out with our bare hands.  The kitchen, after long hours sitting with a kitchen designer, still has a few issues to be ironed out.  A few items remain in Evanston in storage, waiting to be donated or moved up here.

I had forgotten the rigors of home ownership...having done small renovation projects myself in my younger years.  Now I'm 62, and for some strange reason, decided a large renovation job would be a great idea, as the purchase price was laughably low, the location ideal...and Eric agreed it was not to be passed up.

Don't get me wrong.  We do have help.  Sometime in September, Eric was in a Home Depot up here.  He walked up to a guy and said..."you're a contracter, aren't you?"  Yup...he was.  

In John's younger days, he was known as North Michigan's horse whisperer...saving many an ill-treated horse from the meat factory through his special brand of gentleness and ability to connect with the universe...in this case, our animal brothers and sisters.  Before that he had been a dog trainer.  

Once when I was helping John with replacing the rim joist between our first and second floor...a hair raising thing for the uninitiated, I asked him...what's the difference between training a dog and a horse?  Without missing a beat, John said..."A dog is a predator, and a horse is prey...so you have to convince the horse, basically, that you're not going to eat him."  Duh.  This is one simple example of how much there is to learn from the folks up here.  It's been a real breath of fresh air to connect with these people.  I hope to write lots about that in the future.

I'm not yet an official Michigan resident, but that's one more thing on my list...and I look forward to it.  Not that Michigan is perfect.  No state is in great shape, if you're paying any attention to the real economic news.  (Avoid contact with mainstream media if you don't want to get blindsided by what's coming down the pike...I will once again recommend kingworldnews.com and sgtreport.com...for starters.)  Here's a kicker.  California's state budget deficit is LARGER than over half the other states' budgets!!!  Now...I believe...Illinois is worse...or neck and neck with California...though Cal's numbers are bigger because the state is bigger.  Nevertheless, this should gob-smack you if you think things in Illinois will be "ok."

Which brings me to the article I read online this morning regarding one of my favorite subjects, one which may have led Jennifer Fisher, Evanston Patch's editor, to write that I make readers think, in her recent article highlighting the contributions of 10 Evanston Patch bloggers.  I was surprised and delighted at that comment, as I figured most folks out there would consider me to be a kook, conspiracy theorist, or worse yet, a Republican.  

For the record...I don't identify with any political party...and my "mantra/joke" is..."You know why they call them Parties?  (Beat)  Because they don't work!"  This always brings a knowing giggle or laugh, that is, until voting day...when most people go dutifully to the polls to vote for the "lesser of two evils," not daring to vote for an alternative because to do so would be a vote against their own favored evil.

Things in the country are not ok.  We all know this.  Now a divide as wide as the Grand Canyon defines our current political discourse, but it's not between the Democrats and the Republicans.  On the surface it seems like the Republicans want to stop the bleeding when it comes to Government spending, while the Democrats want more programs to help the economy and the people.  But neither party talks much at all about our brutal military operations which kills thousands of innocents throughout the world, while draining the budget and bringing our country to its knees.  The peace movement disappeared when Obama was elected, and now we're deeper into the global war on "terrorists" than ever!  Nobody talks about the fact that what we do in the name of "freedom and democracy" is EVIL.  In our hearts, we the people know it's evil, and that's probably why we openly admit we'll vote for the "lesser of two evils."  I might add that neither party dares to talk about what's really going on in the economy.  (For those of you interested, curious, or scared enough, I recommend Jim Rickard's book, Currency Wars.)

So, to the real divide.  It is between the growing Awake and Aware movement and the folks still stuck in the Republican-Democrat paradigm.  If you are awake and aware, you understand that we the people are outsiders...or again, as George Carlin would say..."you're not in the club."  The insiders, the global elite, understand that the Republicans and the Democrats are about as relevant to the big picture of what's going on nationally and globally as human farts are to global warming.   

The joke is on us, folks.  Once again, I warn you to shun the nonsensical left-right, Republican-Democrat paradigm, and focus instead on the fact that you are, the vast majority, outsiders.  The insiders are getting richer through a monetary system that's rigged, and so complex that most of you would rather eat monkey brains than twist your brain into knots in order to understand it.

That said, this house of cards/ponzi scheme is about to crumble.  I find it apropo that, once in jail, Bernie Madoff told it like it is...saying, "The United States is a ponzi scheme."  Hmm, do you think Bernie might understand something you don't?

We, the poor and middle class, hang by a thread.  Our taxes are going up, the war is expanding, and we are being herded into a mind-set of fear designed to get us to run to the protective arms of a government run by secretive, wealthy elitists who care for us about as much as Cain cared for Able.  

Hope the following article helps you on your journey.  In the meantime, research the NDAA and Obama's growing list of executive orders designed to change this country into something you would never have dreamed possible a few short years ago.

http://www.wealthwire.com/news/editorial/4563