our natural heritage

sure, we still have trees but the virgin forest ecosystem holds so much more than just a nice looking forest. One example: the original mycelial mat which acts as the neural network of the forest moving nutrients from tree to tree. Farewell natural heritage, at least we had Teddy Roosevelt to save portions of our [...]

the video the US Army doesn’t want you to see

I place this video on my blog with a rather necessary warning. I could only make it about half way through because it was so disturbing.
Wartime atrocities are nothing new, we’ve know about how invading troops commit horrors since wars were first documented. I became aware to the extent of these atrocities committed by [...]

Tom Brokaw explains Canada to the United States

In this short video, Tom Brokaw explains Canada to the United States. Plenty of great shots of Vancouver in there too. Some might say a Canadian is an American without a gun but I would say this video presents a slightly more complex view of the people of Canada. I especially liked that at the [...]

what doesn’t work

If you’ve been reading my postings on this blog, you’ll quickly pick up that I think the United States is in full-scale decline. I would love to change my mind on this topic but every piece of evidence tends to point towards either a rapid collapse or a century long dissolution. Probably the actual fate [...]

almost 1/4 of the world’s prison population is in the US

how many prisoners does the United States have? Only about 1/4 of all the world’s prison population.

porter sculpture park and the corn palace

On the way out of Sioux Falls we stopped off at the towns namesake. The falls were intriguing but underwhelming because we were used to the massive waterfalls from North Carolina. However, for people accustomed to the rolling prairie-land I’m sure this was quite a sight.

Perhaps the single most awesome (non-nature related) stop on [...]

driving through Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota

We left Chicago early in the morning, around 7:30am to allow plenty of time from driving through the rough traffic.

podcasts from this week can help you understand the US debt problem

As the US debt ceiling was quickly raised to $12.4 billion to prevent Federal government shutdown, the only inevitable response will be an even larger increase early next year.
The United States balance sheet is looking like a weaker and weaker attempt at recovery. Some might even make the argument that the US is insolvent, [...]

subtracting 85% from your life over the next decade

Imagine slashing the your income across the board by 85%. That’s the comparison John Michale Greer draws to the coming age of energy scarcity in his latest post,

the true cost of the US presence in Iraq and Afghanistan

An amazing video from GOOD on the true cost of the US presence in Iraq and Afghanistan alone. It is no longer an argument about whether we should be there or not, it is an argument about whether we can afford it or not. Especially since 20,000 Americans a day are applying for food stamps. [...]