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Welcome to Post-Bush America.
In January of 2009, 600,000 people across the country were laid off.
I am one of them. This is the story of my early retirement!

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Showing posts with label this is really happening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label this is really happening. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Consumer Radicalism

‘Never mind what they’re selling. It’s what you’re buying.’ - Fugazi

There is a way to do it. Small ways in your day to day to not give your dollar to the man. And there are more and more ways opening up every day.

If you’re like me, you’re not a big fan of the Big Corporations that run our country. Not a fan of the War for Oil, and the insanely inflated gas prices of the last 2 years. Not a fan of the chemical-laden food that is mass produced and sold to you. (Here’s some food for thought. We use manure in our gardens because it helps things grow. Animal feces is good for plants. Try using human feces, and it will kill everything. Ever wonder why that is? Perhaps its because animals like Cows eat natural things like grass and corn, and humans eat McDonalds and Mountain Dew and things that never would exist in nature). The Corporate Run American System is poisoning you and stealing your hard earned dollars, and you and bending over, dropping trow, and sticking your wallet in your ass so they can easily do both. You are buying into what they’ve told you to.

I try to do everything in my power to keep my hard earned dollars in the hands of my peers, rather than forking it all over to big business. Granted, its relatively impossible to do this 100% of the time, but here are some of my methods that help me to sleep at night.
  • Gas: I do not give my money to Exxon, Mobil, Shell, or any of the major companies. I simply refuse. The less people who give them money, the less they’ll have to charge for their stinking gasoline. Look at the escalated gas prices, especially since that date of huge catastrophe. There is no reason for it, except that they can.
  • Phone Companies: Here’s one of the most amazing scams they’ve come up with in some time. Cell phones are all the rage, and these huge companies can pretty well charge you whatever they want, and rope you in with cool gadgetry. T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T. Huge corporations who have cornered the market. Or have they. Ever heard of Working Assets? (Now called Credo) Started in 1985 as a small company with ethics, Working Assets gives a portion of all income to various charities, such as Greenpeace and Doctors Without Borders. I’ve used them for 15 years. When I joined, you even got a pint of Ben and Jerry’s free each month for a year. They used to only do local phone, but now they do cell phones as well, and I’ve got a damn cool gadgety phone just like you! The company has raised over $50 million dollars for charitable organizations, and also promotes social activism. In each bill are a number of petitions that you can elect to add your name to, and various socially conscious books that you can buy if you’re interested. Just add it to the bill. Their website features Act for Change, the social activism portion where many political and social causes are featured so you can be informed and get involved. All this from a phone company. And my bill is no more than anyone else’s.
  • Organic Food: Folks, there are a few easy points I can make here. One is, take a look at the ingredients of many of the things that you consume. Good god! What is all of that stuff? Its chemicals, kiddies. Things that men created in a lab. Things that really have no place in food. Soda like Coke can rot through the dashboard of your car when spilled, but you drink it down into your sensitive little tummy. Ever wonder why so many Americans are OBESE? There’s your answer fish bulb! And the almighty THEY only know what sort of mind control chemicals are used in Pop-Tarts, Coke, Lay’s potato chips, et al. Let me tell you, once you start eating more natural foods, you can no longer enjoy these chemical cocktails. You can taste the filth. Now, I know you are going to start whining at me about costs. YES, Organic and natural foods are currently more expensive. WHY? Because they are no longer the main staple, but a niche market. However, the more of us who purchase this sort of product, the cheaper it will get. The reason all that other food is so cheap is because THERE IS NO FOOD IN IT! It is cheaply manufactured chemicals. And don’t complain that you can’t get your favorite products either, because you’ll find a brand of cookies just like Oreo’s that aren’t just crap. Support you local farmers and small mom and pop companies that are making real food.
  • WalMart: Department stores make me sick, and WalMart is the king of nausea. I can in no way give this company any of my money. I have been to a WalMart once, only once, in the desperate need for a cheap vacuum. And I regret that to this day. We all know the poor practices of this company, and if you don’t, look it up. My hatred for WalMart started with the censorship of music, as they only sell acceptable cd’s and alter cover art that they do not enjoy. People should never buy music from department stores. Yes, its cheaper, generally, but they only sell certain things, and if everyone shopped at department stores, they’d put real record stores out of business, and you’d lose the ability to find interesting and experimental artists (yes, this argument is out of date with the internet and iTunes, but I still feel it has validity). WalMart is pure evil, and no one should ever shop there.

Folks, there are many other ways that you can refuse to support the Big Corporations, and I welcome your ideas. Share them with me, and with others. Fight back against the Corporate Government, and support your local businesses. Use your dollar as a weapon. Use every weapon you have. This is how we will reach true freedom.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

This Is Really Happening

...so, those of you who know me know I have special hope for the world, and that I really wish for drastic and positive change.  Right now, and it may seem silly, but my hopes are directed at the year 2012.  December 21, 2012 is one of those apocalyptic dates, the date the Mayan Calendar ends, the date of all kinds of crazy predictions.  The Mayans believed that this date would hold drastic world changes, but also that it would bring on the age of enlightenment, or something like that.  I like that, and hope for it.  This world is a mess, I'm bored, and things need to change!  DRASTICALLY.   So, I keep my eye out for interesting things that make me think of this.  Some are just ways to point out how wrong the world is right now.  Others are things that could happen.  We'll see what comes of it, but I plan to have this be a recurring theme.  Just like Warren Ellis has 'Our Doomed World' come up on his website quite often, I now have This Is Really Happening.  It works.  Oh yes.  So, here are two points for today:
  • Watching an episode of Chronicle, which is a pretty interesting show.  This episode is about struggling retail in this lovely recession of ours.  And then comes Wal-Mart, the evilest retail empire there is.  And, shocker, one of the very few companies that is POSTING A PROFIT in February!!!!  Why is this?  Because Wal-Mart undercuts prices like crazy, and everyone is hurting for cash, so they can go to the Evil W and get things cheaper.  BUT FOLKS, THIS IS KILLING US!  Wal-Mart is renowned for opening up a store, pricing everything lower than all the businesses in the area (businesses run by your friends, family, neighbors, etc), and putting all these businesses OUT OF BUSINESS.  Then, well, if their store isn't turning a big enough profit, they shut it down.  They decimate local economies, and then leave.  PURE FUCKING EVIL.  Capitalism at its worst.   Look, I know you're hurting for cash.  Hell, I ain't got no job.  I understand.  But you can't fall into the trap of shopping at WalMart.  The company that censors art (they won't sell CD's with anything they deem offensive unless they can censor it, change the cover, whatever they want), sells more guns than just about anyone, treats its employees like crap, the list just goes on.  STOP SHOPPING AT WALMART!!!!  SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS.  If you all go to local places, they can charge less for things because they actually get your business.  They sell stuff, are able to order more stuff, get stuff cheaper when they buy bulk, and you can eventually pay decent prices for things.  You have to pay a bit more at first, but its for the best interest of everyone.  Trust me.
  • Secondly, heres an interesting NASA report on what would happen to us if a big solar storm comes a calling, which it might.  What would the world do without electricity for an extended period of time.  What would we do?  Think about it!  

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