I have been watching the media cover “preparedness” for quite some time. Sure, I come from breakdown-prepared stock (my family had cases of freeze-dried survival rations in the 70s), so I’ve always been more in tune with the topic, but never before have I seen the mainstream media start to treat the subject with anything but scorn.
With regard to the unraveling, that is changing. The media seems to be waking up.
From the New York Times: Duck and Cover: It’s the New Survivalism – A non-judgemental (unless the fops at the Times are keeping their tongues firmly in their cheeks on this one. If so, it was lost on me.
The UK’s Telegraph: RBS issues global stock and credit crash alert This is the Royal Bank of Scotland saying this, by the way:
“A very nasty period is soon to be upon us – be prepared,” said Bob Janjuah, the bank’s credit strategist.
And finally, from the Wall Street Journal: Peak Oil: IEA inches toward the Pessimists’ camp.>
The word is getting out and hitting the mainstream, or more accurately, the non-salacious mainstream. The Telegraph? The Journal? The NYT? To be real, these outlets aren’t reporting the whole story, nor are they reporting it with the alarm that’s due, but it is showing up on their radar, which I find at once, both interesting and very troubling. I’m starting to thing our problems are bearing down on us much faster than we thought.
Be prepared.
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Article from Reuters. That this would be a surprise to anyone defies all common sense.
Entering the 20th century, the vast majority of Americans were employed in food production. Our resources were vast, and required a lot of hands to make the food we eat. Industry came, and with it, both higher paying jobs making cars (and other things). Fortunately, that same technological advance brought automation to the farm, freeing up a lot of those previously food-producing hands to go look for work in the factories in the big cities.
When foreign competition killed our steel and automotive industries, we started using the computers the industrial revolution made possible to create and sell “information.” The ridiculously cheap oil supplies we enjoyed (thanks to our “friendship” with oil sheiks in the ME) allowed us to create huge constellations of suburbs with their accompanying fast food franchises and big box stores, and sell things to each other, soaking up the enormous tidal waves of cash created by an army of manipulators of the economy.
America now has an economy that can be reduced in metaphor to a village of people who pay each other to do each others laundry. As long as some outside entity keeps sending checks to the villagers, it all works. But the many trouble-chickens coming home to roost in the U.S. right now are drying up the resources of that outside entity and the money is stopping.
What you are seeing right now in America, as we celebrate the birthday of this glorious Republic, is that we’re starting to do our own laundry. And so are our former customers, our neighbors.
And that’s a problem.
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California’s Inland Empire communities “ghost towns” in increasing numbers, says analyst in the LA Times Blogs.
This situation isn’t confined to California, however. Developers in a number of American cities are cutting prices of new construction to the bone, offering incentives (like Porches in the garage) and in all probability, begging people to take properties off their hands.
But mark my words. Panic hasn’t even set in yet.
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And his name is Ron Paul
Dr. Paul smells something big happening, and is entering a statement about it into the Congressional Record. When the history of the early 21st century is read a hundred years from now by my descendents, I sincerely hope they are reading the inspirational story of how the ideas of Dr. Ron Paul saved this nation and the liberty of her citizens. I don’t believe those children will be reading about an evil Bush family who plotted to steal those freedoms from us, but rather a greedy and bungling clan who misused the trust a nation placed in them to put us all in a very, very difficult place.
I’d be happy if there were no villains in the story, just heroes and dolts.
On November 4th, please write-in Ron Paul for President.
We cannot afford the inexperience of Obama or the ignorance of McCain. It’s too critical a time for our Republic, and many, including myself, see it coming to bad end if things don’t change for the better very, very soon.
Ron Paul for President. He’s withdrawn from the race, but not from the revolution.
WhatComesNext.net stands with Dr. Paul.
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Ron Paul