My addiction to blogging and America's addiction to cheap oil

OK; so I said I was walking away from blogging--well it's damn hard to break a habit that is so deeply ingrained into your daily routine. I've done this for over two years and frankly, I've found the habit intoxicating. Honestly, my recent post was not a ploy to get people to laud my miniscule contribution to the blogosphere--I was genuinely burnt out and feeling tapped out.

Basically, I guess I'll probably continue to post at least weekly, here at Words Matter, but I'm not going to freak out if I don't. I have alot on my plate with the non-fiction anthology in progress, part-time job that continues to require more of my energies than I care to think about, etc. However, there is alot going on in the world and obviously, some people do read my posts. I guess I just need to be a big boy and not be all wounded because I don't have the amount of traffic that other bloggers do.

Having said that, there is much to stay abreast of, particularly pertaining to the price of gasoline and the utter delusional approaches Americans are taking in dealing with the beginning of what I believe to be Jim Kunstler's scenario laid out in last summer's, The Long Emergency. He has an excellent post at his blog, about Americans and our inability to come to terms with the peak oil issue, using Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's well-known sequence of emotional reactions, which humans go through, when facing certain death. Personally, I enjoy reading the myriad of comments his posting elicits. If you can overlook some of the carping, there are some bright folks who have some interesting contributions to add to the discussion. His blog certainly has much more diversity than the recent stories flooding the news about rising gas prices and the empty comments coming from the usual, "man-on-the-street" interviews.

A site called LiberalRapture.com has this post about how most will try to rationalize the current situation and how few recognize that it might an indication we've reached our global peak of production.

As I wrote last summer, reading Kunstler's book, as well as some of the other books on the market about peak oil might be helpful. Also, check out this list of 30 thesis, for a look into what a post-carbon world might look like.

Prison-Industrial Complex

Back in 2003, while still working for "the man" and plotting my escape, I'd wake up early to write and throw a tape in the tape player, to record The Jeff Rense Program. Later, listening to my tape during my 35 minute commute allowed me to bypass the usual drivel passing for commercial radio and catch up on some cutting edge news, Jeff's prescriptions for better health, as well as the assorted conspiracy fodder and UFO stories.

For the uninitiated, Rense's program runs the gamut of tinfoil hat topics, but what sets him apart from other conspiricy peddlars, is Rense's great interview style and mixture of topics that could best be called prescient. Plus, it was more provocative and entertaining than the usual corporate hacks reading their infomercials passed off as news and journalism.

Interestingly, the topic of the U.S. building detention centers/prisons always intrigued me, but three years ago, it seemed alarmist to think bad thoughts about the issue.

But, directly from the Halliburton corporate website, we have this press release, indicating that these friends of George and Dick have been awarded an IDIQ contract for building U.S. detention facilities, in support of the Department of Homeland Security.

Three years later, only to the truly deluded and those in denial would stories like this and this seen far-fetched and beyond the pale.

The current crew in power, with their veil of secrecy, are plotting our nation's demise, as I type this.

Neil Young is sick of living with war (and I am too!)

At his age, Neil Young should be kicking back and enjoying the latter years of his life. Hell, Prairie Wind seemed to be the type of record that indicated that this rock icon might be nearing the age where he put away the Crazy Horse-style electric stuff and became mellow Neil. As always, Young confounds us, at least the pre-release buzz seems to indicate so.

I've got more about the upcoming broadside against Bush over at the other site.

An end, of sorts

Back in November, 2004, I began Words Matter. At that point, I’d been blogging for nine months at my own website. Thinking that some of my more personal and political posts were hurting my marketability as a writer, I decided to migrate my political, cultural and other observations to another place; hence, Words Matter was born.

I’ve enjoyed blogging for much of the past 17 months. During that time, I’ve remained passionate in my opinions and felt I had something to say. However, I’ve reached the point where I’m currently blogging more because I feel I have to, in order to maintain some consistent content, rather than being driven by the urge to express my thoughts. I’ve always attempted to be a blogger who tried to have something to say and by and large, I’ve avoided resorting to rehashing the content of others. Of late, I’ve lost that urgency to state my thoughts and opinions and to weigh in on the matters of the day. Because of this, I’ve decided the time has come to pull the plug on this type of writing.

I’ve had a handful of consistent readers (who’ve graciously shared comments along the way) and I’m grateful for your support. I’ll continue to check out some of my favorite bloggers, many of whom are listed as links on this site.

I’m not abandoning blogging entirely, as I’ll still keep my hand in the medium, at Write in Maine, but it will be sporadic and given mostly to the subject of writing and publishing.

I leave the door ajar, for my return at some later date, particularly if some issue or event warrants it. However, I'm tired to tilting at the same windmills and riding the same horse time and time again, with little or nothing to show for it.

Politics and its strange bedfellows

You won't find two more polar opposites than U.S. Representative, Bob Barr (R-GA), and Vermont Congressman, Bernie Sanders, the iconoclastic former socialist mayor of Burlington, and registered Independent.

While Barr and Sanders might disagree on a veritable hodge podge of political issues, one area where they've found common ground is their concern about the erosion of civil liberties, under the current administration's utilization of the USA Patriot Act.

Barr, who inhabits the opposite end of the political spectrum, tilting rightward, to Sanders' obvious leftward leanings, has been a vocal critic of USAPA. With its creepy nods to secrecy, the legalization of torture and the building of clandestine prisons, USAPA gives even a hardcore conservative, like Barr, reason for concern and some might even say, cause for alarm.

Meeting in Montpelier, Vermont, an oasis of democracy in a roiling sea of totalitarian power grabs by an administration, which has no respect for the rule of law--at least when it comes to their own indescretions--Barr and Sanders were members on a panel of civil libertarians, discussing concerns pertaining to USAPA and the current administration's flippant disregard for the U.S. Constitution.

In a press conference, the two men stood together, dressed in blue suits and blue shirts, Barr with a red tie; Sanders in a blue one - advocating a change in leadership based on a perceived erosion of civil liberties.

Vermont has been a hotbed of anti-USAPA organizing, at the grass-roots level. For the uninitiated, here is some background on USAPA, from the EPIC website.