J.Arthur Loose's blog

~ As I said, well over a year ago, "Obama isn't going to amount to anything other than a couple years of hope followed by another couple years of dismay." I guess I was wrong- as it seems to have taken rather less time for this prediction to manifest. The "left," is starting to realize that something's amiss, though the dominant responses yet seem to come in the form of denial and confusion. When Obama was selected to run for the Democrats, it was obvious to me that the reigning duopolists understood that they needed to mollify the angry "left". The next president will be selected to mollify the angry "right," whether by four years of abuse or eight, and some people who should know better keep falling for it, time and time again. I've been biding my time since the last election until the "left," started to understand just how maliciously they've been used. I'm noticing some dawning awareness, even among Obama's most strident original supporters, whom, I might add, have often been among secession's most strident detractors. If they can get over their fears, misperceptions, prejudices and partisanry we might be able to regain some semblance of freedom, truth and sovereignty. The same is true for the "right," and this wedge is the successfully employed, standard ruling-class method of divide and conquer which we Vermonters must overcome if we are ever to put an end to the American abuse of humanity both home and abroad. It's going to take real tolerance all around, and I'm not holding my breath. At the risk of redundancy, let me outline some general consistencies between the Democrats and the Republicans to which all honest and gallant souls should stand opposed: illegal wars, threats of new illegal wars, illegal wiretapping or communications intercepts, illegal paid shills for war and corporate profit, illegal foreign influence peddling, illegal support for a foreign government with undeclared nuclear weapons that routinely commits illegal and racist acts of aggression, illegal collusion and complicity with acts of "terrorism" aimed at the American psyche, illegal use of mercenaries both home and abroad to escape legal and constitutional constraints, illegal American acts of terrorism and war such as missile or predator drone strikes on sovereign nations which admittedly kill numerous civilians, illegal "bailouts" for "bankers," illegal intrusions into rights to privacy, secret meetings and illegal government / corporate collusion behind closed doors, immoral revolving-door appointments from corporate power into federal regulatory positions, shamefully obvious rewards for corporate campaign contributions, illegal "renditions" and torture, continued use of illegal COINTELPRO techniques as methods of stifling legitimate dissent and last but not least, lies, lies and damned lies made during campaigns and beyond. It's honestly unfathomable to me how any curious individual can look at the past 100 years and reason that America is capable of any meaningful reform, or adherence to its own constitutional mandates and limitations; that venerable document called The American Constitution is long gone. This is to say nothing of the ongoing economic collapse, as the cascade set off by the "home mortgage crisis," continues into commercial real estate and further. By some accounts we're only through about a third of the economic unwinding of all the schemes and pyramids, and that's in financial terms, not in terms of time. More is most certainly yet to come. I'm glad to see the new momentum manifest in the push to elect independence-minded candidates to office here in Vermont. I hope that we can find a way to help Vermonters see through the artificial and divisive polarity of the two-party system and dualistic oppositional politics. I hope we can find a way to provoke a public questioning of raw American nationalism that blinds folks to the abuses they're subjected to and by willful and ignorant complicity, subject unto others all around the whole world. This seems to me the most difficult obstacle standing in the way of honorably ending the Empire. Let us remain unpartisan in our cries for freedom and peace, as the Republicratic oligarchs remain unpartisan in the murder, mayhem, lies and profiteering that they call government. Free Vermont!

~ America's president Obama continues the tune that Bush the Younger started fiddling... and Rome continues her fall. I recall all the Hope for Change and I'll even refrain from saying that I told you so. Sort of. We've still got two war fronts and no sign of withdrawal. "Sure baby," says the President, "I'll pull out." Afghanistan, the Graveyard of Empires, conquered only by the likes of Alexander the Great, remains completely and surprisingly unconquered. History, shmistory; we'll just need another 500,000 troops. How's the family these days? Little Johnny's just about to graduate, isn't he? Such a promising boy. The propaganda's really hitting the fan- more war is certainly coming. Perhaps after another false flag operation... false flag, you ask? I guess I'm some kind of 9-11 conspiracist just like the 9-11 Commission Chief Counsel himself, John Farmer, who even wrote a book detailing the lies coming from every element of the American government and his admission that whatever happened that day, the official story is one of the more unlikely theories about, um... a conspiracy, I guess. What exactly DID Iraq or Afghanistan have to do with 9-11 anyway? Whatever. Iran, signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which permits, by the way, the development of low-level uranium enrichment for power-generating purposes, announces a new low-level uranium centrifuge and the press spins it wildly. Especially the Israeli press. Those guys seem to know a lot about developing nuclear programs in secret, which I guess is why they never signed the aforementioned treaty, and why they refuse to let let the International Atomic Energy Agency inspect the likes of Dimona, unlike Iran. Never you mind- Ahmadinejad quoted Khomeni, who said that the "regime of Israel would disappear from the pages of time," which means he's Hitler, and we have to stop him. (See MEMRI for the the full translation.) This kind of behavior stands in stark contrast to the Israelies, who would never think of herding folks into ghettoes and doing things like starving them, bombing them with white phosphorus, stealing their organs & selling them in Jersey or shooting their little girls for walking to school while exonerating the soldiers that do it all. Poor, beleaguered Israel. If only the haters would stop hating: Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter, Colin Powell, Norman Finkelstein... the list goes on. Funny, no one ever claimed that opposition to South Africa's state sanctioned crimes & apartheid was "racist." But despite Obama's Hope and Change, the Project for a New American Century's manifesto Rebuilding America's Defenses must go on, and establish Israel as the dominant force in the Middle East for America's benefit. Iran will be attacked, mark my words, it's next on the list, if you ever bothered to read it. Americans will die for Israel and for Empire. And maybe to help boost that sagging economy. I'm really glad to see that some true economic reform is under way, and that the systemic causes of serial economic bubble burstings are finally being addressed. Jobs are back on the climb, and the American Dream looks more promising than ever: a house, a family... maybe even a puppy this Christmas. Sure hope I can still afford that health insurance I'll be forced to buy, because it looks like the fine's going to be pretty steep, and backed by potential jail time. What an awesome solution to the pharmaceutical gouging, the insurance profiteering and the snake oil chicanery of modern medicine; make everyone buy more! A uniquely American approach. By the way, got your flu shot yet? The virus is getting weaker every day so you'd better hurry up! Supplies are limited and you don't want to miss out on your live virus, squalene-laden mercury cocktail. You missed out on SARS, loser, don't lose out again! Oh, did I mention continued torture, continued electronic spying on Americans and continued White House secrecy yet? No? Oh, well. Keep on Hopin' for some Change, folks! I'm sure it's right around the corner. There's no need to even consider leaving the Empire, O.K.? Everything's going to be just fine. In the meantime, don't forget to project all your hate in the direction of whichever team you're not on, you know, the Socialist Libs or the Conservative Whackos. The absolute last thing we need to do is figure out how to come together and end the oligarchy, or how to simply withdraw from it all. GO TEAM!

~ Among many interests, I have also been homebrewing for well over ten years. This craft goes hand in hand with smithing, as the ancient Celts attested with the deity Goibhniu, the Finns with Ilmarinen and the Norse with the Dwarves. I have certainly made my share of quaffable beer, but have enjoyed the honeyed meads as a general focus. I do believe it a sacred duty to support my local apiaries, and consider drinking mead well nigh a patriotic pastime for my beloved Vermont and her farmers! I would like to keep my own bees in the next few years. There are several Vermont companies now making drinkable mead, which until recently was difficult to find. I recommend Honey Gardens in Ferrisburg. I have been expanding into seasonally gatherable herbs and berries for the metheglins and melomels, these being the technical names for mead with either herbs or fruits. As a result of my cordial inquiries I have also come to the brewing of Elderberry wine. The "country medicine chest," grows all over Vermont and I have spent plenty of pleasurable motorbike rides scouting out the presently flowering patches. The flowers themselves are valued for several traditional drinks in addition to medicinal qualities, and I have just pitched an elderflower mead which looks most promising. I'll let you know in about a year. Patience with brewing is a must! Click "Read More," for recipes. Basic Mead: * Boil 15 lbs Spring or Summer honey & a gallon or so of water in a large pot for 10 min., skimming the foam. * Add 1 tsp Irish moss and 1 tsp gypsum. * Cool to room temperature. * Pitch into a 5 gallon carboy. Top up with water. * Add Champagne yeast for sparkling, Wine yeast or the Wyatt mead-specific yeast for non-sparkling. * Cap with airlock and keep at 60-70 degrees in a dark space until clear and quiet, from 3 - 6 months. * Rack and bottle. Store for a minimum of 6 months. A year is better. Five is grand. Remember: aerate just before pitching yeast and after that, keep oxygen away! Far too many meads and potential mead drinkers have been ruined by oxygenated mead, to say nothing of the young and yeasty; either of which crime is sentenced by a punitive flavor I like to call "The Munge." Herbs are best added during the initial boil or as a subsequent steeping during the cooling of the must. Fruits may be added at this time too, though I have had very good luck adding steeped fruit after the initial fermentation settles. The new sugars awaken the yeast and result in a stronger fruit flavor, as well as allowing for a more sparkling brew, of which I am fond with sweet, fruited meads. Fruits with pectins must be added with pectin enzyme or racking after two or three weeks. I am also a strong proponent of adding tannins, either in the form of a simple tea bag added to the steeping must, or better yet, with the addition of toasted oak chips in the carboy. Elderberry wine: * Bring to boil 15 lbs elderberries & a gallon or so of water. Steep for several hours. Strain well with cheesecloth, squeezing and breaking the berries. Do not, however, break or include the seeds in the must! * Add 5 tsp pectin enzyme and 5 tsp yeast nutrient. * In a separate pot, boil 2 gallons water with 7 lbs sugar. * Cool both pots to room temperature. * Pitch into a 5 gallon carboy. Top up with water. * Add a good wine yeast. Add oak chips if desired. * Cap with airlock and keep at 60-70 degrees in a dark space until clear and quiet, about 6 months. * Rack and bottle. Store for a minimum of six months. One is good. Five is grand. Last year's blackberry mead is one of my best, and the elderberry wine produced in September is young, but quite drinkable. Many of the ingredients here are simply good for you as well. In addition to the known benefits of honey, including local pollens, elderberry in particular holds qualities nearly as medicinal and preventative as the better known echinacea. Many of the ancient brewing staples such as mugwort or yarrow also hold health benefits. There are few pleasures in life such as taking the time to make something eminently enchanting and sustaining from the beautiful land we share, and mind you I do not give my brewing secrets lightly. Take with them well, my fellow Vermonters.

~ Now is the time to be thankful. In the midst of mayhem, Vermont still blooms; the garden grows, the farmer's market begins to show its bounty and the Summer dresses finally make their welcome appearance. Of course the American, indeed world economy's still in complete meltdown, despite laughable assurances to the contrary. The Project for a New American Century's drums of war still beat for Iran. War seems inevitable as the CIA & Mossad's textbook coup attempt fails to oust Ahmadinejad. The Americans will be bombing some more innocent folks in order to give them Democracy, mark my words. Obama's electioneering lies and backroom dealings begin to seethe to the surface: gay rights, health care, executive transparency, corporate and Wall Street accountability, the economy, Israel's undue influence and ethnic cleansing... and let's not forget that thing called peace, shall we? The "Left," and the "Right," continue merging into one monstrous mass of intolerance and mutual hate. The CEO's, the bankers and the politicians continue their cheering. It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion and at last I've finally just turned my head away. I'll just keep working on the garden, supporting local agriculture, brewing beer, mead and elderberry wine, playing music with like-minded musicians, learning how to live with the land and teaching people how to make things with their own two hands. It's a grassroots revolution of one, baby.

~ I't been a pleasure to watch the events of the past week, culminating in the sensible assertion that the state has no business refusing to issue marriages on the basis of gender. It's a first, coming from a state legislature and certainly in the tradition of Vermont, whose founders often held nature and reason above religious dogma. It's that history which places Vermont in a unique position to do even better, and I wonder what we could achieve without the shackles of the federal American government and the collective decisions made by states so culturally disparate that we ought to, in practical terms, simply be different countries. I've no wish to impose my values on other people and I expect the same. Isn't that the crux of the matter? Free Vermont!