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7月27日 Social Progessive is just another name for FascismSocial Progressive is just another name for Fascism
I am an avid cigar smoker. I generally smoke them in the privacy of my own home. I don't force anybody, including Laurie, to put up with my personal indulgence. By the way, cigar smoking is not a habit, it is a hobby of sorts. Now I see that so-called 'Social Progressives' are going out of their way to eliminate cigar smoking. It is bad enough that they have generally outlawed smoking in almost every public place. Now they want to use SCHIP to functionally tax cigar smoking out of business within the United States!
This just pisses me off.
I wonder exactly when it become the role of government to start dictating life-style choices? It all just seems like another form of fascism to me. My membership in the CRA goes in today...
Cigar Rights of America
Now a word from one of my favorite cigar makers.
If you think the third world hates America now just wait to see how they feel when if the United States enacts this tax.
X-Files: I Want to BelieveI Want to Believe
(The movie has nothing to do with werewolves)
Laurie and I went to the new X-Files movie 'I Want to Believe' tonight. Since I am one of those diehard X-Files fans I think I should write something about the movie. Both Laurie and I have seen every single episode of the series at least once and some episodes more than once. Some episodes I've seen three or four times. We also saw the first movie when it came out in theaters and at home again on DVD. I still have a beat up X-Files shirt that I wear every so often. Now the quality of the original series could range from mediocre to brilliant. The episodes that pertained to the 'mythology' of the series are still oddly fascinating. I guess I am a fan.
This movie doesn't have anything to do with the 'mythology' of the original series. There are some mentions of Mulder's sister and that is about as close as it gets to UFO's. There are several little references in the movie that only fans of the series would understand (pencils in the ceiling or the 'I want to believe' poster). I get the feeling that this movie was made as much for the fans as a general audience. It answered some of the questions that fans might have had after that series finale fading out on Scully and Mulder holding each other as they ran from the law.
I'm not going to give anything away other than to say this movie has NOTHING to do with werewolves. The big rumor on the web was that Chris Carter had created a story about werewolves. There are no werewolves, the movie has a lot of dogs but no werewolves. The story in this movie is a lot stranger than werewolves. It does bring back one other actor from the original series and I won't give that away either. It didn't bring back the 'Lone Gunmen' even as ghosts. This disappointed me since Melvin Frohike was sort of a role model for me.
I did enjoy the movie! It was good to see Dana Scully and Fox Mulder together again. The movie reminded me of a two hour long episode of the original series. It even did a lot of the little style flourishs that marked the original series. This was not a big special effects loaded film. The fact is it was a relatively low budget production. As I understand it the movie cost $35 million to make. The first movie, 'Fighting the Future', was actually cost $66 million to make. There is a plus to this cost; it is more likely to be a box office success.
Let me give you one clue as to if there will be a third movie. If you see it don't get up and leave the theater as soon as the movie ends. Watch the credits the whole way through. There is a little scene at the very end of the movie that might be a hint about the future. 7月26日 Edgar MitchellEdgar Mitchell
I haven't had the time to maintain this blog as I usually have. We are within three weeks on the expiration of my Union's contract and there is much to do. At this point I am fairly certain we will walk; the issues are just to big to be easily resolved.
I still check my favorite online news sources each day. Sometimes a story will appear on one and then vanish. If it seems like it might pertain to something I'm interested in I will try to follow it up. Now I have found a news story that is appearing on literally all of my favorite sources! I am not a big one for the 'UFO Mystery'. I figure that MUFON has this covered well enough. This particular news story is taking on a more and more weight each day:
Moon-walker claims alien contact cover-up
You would think this is the sort of thing I would be all over. It has elements of government conspiracy and deep mystery. I will be interested to see what comes of this. If you are wondering what NASA thinks off all this, well, here is what I've found so far:
I'll try to keep track of this one. Sometimes the official response to such allegations can be as interesting as the allegations themselves. Laurie and I are planning on seeing the new 'X-Files' movie tonight. It just seems so fitting and ironic that Scully and Mulder should show up again while such claims of conspiracy are in the news... 7月19日 Politicians SuckPoliticians Suck
I haven't posted much on the blog lately. My life currently has been revolving around getting ready for a potential strike and trying to ride out the downward slide of the economy. In a lot of ways Laurie and I are luckier than most people. We don't have to feed and raise any kids. We don't really have a lot of debt. We even have a fairly good strike fund built up and all the physical preparations done for a work stoppage. I honestly think we are in a better position to handle things than many people.
Still, these are tough days. We live near a local truckstop and Laurie and I have a lot of friends among the drivers. These have not been easy days for the 'owner-operators' that frequent the truckstop. They actually pay more for their diesel than we pay for our gas. It can be a tough decision on accepting a load and fueling up or just letting the rig sit idle. They are competing in a market where their profit margins were not all that great before the fuel price increases. Now many of them are being forced out of the business.
We also have railroad and airline people in South Saint Paul. There are not a lot of days that pass when we don't see a news story about how the high fuel prices are slamming the airline industry. You don't hear so much about the railroad industry. Probably the fact that more people fly than ride trains has a lot to do with this. I would bet more goods are shipped on trains than on planes.
This leads me to another thought. I wonder when this all really starts to impact the economy? It is one thing to pay the price at the pump but what about the price we pay as it all impacts our national infrastructure? What happens when more and more trucks stop delivering goods, more and more planes stop flying, and the whole mechanism of commerce slows down? It really does seem to me that our national economy is built on about 80 dollar a barrel oil.
Now this last week the barrel price of oil started to drop. The big problem here is that the price drop does not translate to a lower pump price all that quickly. I read that it takes about two weeks. There is a cynical part of me that wonders if it will ever lower. I also can see some real vulnerabilities in our current energy infrastructure. All it takes is the perception of a crisis and the price shoots up again. All I have to do is look at a map of the Straits of Hormuz to imagine what would happen if anybody started a war with Iran. It is my understanding that it wouldn't take a lot to stop those supertankers from steaming through there.
Trust me, I would love to see our economy running along on alternative fuels. I am not a believer in 'Global Warming'. I think the whole Al Gore scare thing is the biggest scam ever pulled on humanity. The fact of the matter is we are just too dependent on foreign oil. The thing that is really frustrating to me is that we apparently have plenty of our own oil available in the United States but we are too busy with our political bickering to simply start getting it. Sure it might take a few years to get at most of it but I don't see any of the alternative technologies becoming viable any faster than that either!
I just wished the freaks we put in Congress would simply get it through their collective heads that we need to exploit our domestic oil supplies right now! This does not mean dip into the Strategic Reserve. If the Israelis or Iran finally decide to nuke each other we might need that reserve more than you can imagine. I am really tired of all the political infighting while the economy gradually grinds down more each day.
7月12日 Getting ready for August 15thGetting ready for August 15th...
The blog hasn't been to active over the last couple of weeks. Laurie and I have been getting ready for August 15th. This date doesn't mean much to most people and most years it wouldn't mean anything out of the ordinary for us. This year is special. Laurie and I are both employed by Qwest Communications and we are both members of local CWA 7200. This year is a contract year and at midnight on August 15th our current contract is scheduled to expire. The contract negotiations started this week on Tuesday the 8th. If some sort of deal isn't struck by midnight on the 15th Laurie and I will be out on the picket lines.
The negotiations for our last contract ran right up to the midnight deadline. Our Union local had let us schedule our picket assignment for that same night. If we had walked Laurie and I would have been the first people standing with signs in front of our building. The fact is that management and our negotiating team came to a deal literally at the last minute. Nobody on either side had any idea what was happening right up to the last minute. There we were standing outside our building at midnight and some of the managers inside came out to ask us if we had any idea what was going on! The fact is the contract was negotiated and we all went home.
This year I'm not so sure things will go so well. There are big issues on the table; health care and our pensions. The company would like the union people to pay more of their health care. I'm not exactly sure what they want to do around pensions but since Laurie and I are getting closer and closer to retirement this is of particular interest to us. Since we have a Presidential Election coming up in November and one of the big issues there will be National Health Care and Social Security I find it a bit ironic that similar issues are being brought up in our contract talks.
So right now we are getting ready for a potential strike. We have saved money, done automotive repairs and are stocking up on some dry goods. The goal is to prevent any unexpected expenses during the strike and stretch your 'strike fund' as far as you can. It also pays to educate yourself on the issues; it is easier to handle the whole thing if you understand the issues at stake.
I tend to avoid dragging the 'Chicken' through the political blogosphere but I almost feel like it is inevitable. There are so many things that are gradually intruding on 'life as usual'. Last night I saw that the price of regular gasoline was sitting at $3.99 a gallon. It is also my understanding from reading the news that we are paying some of the least for gas right now. I also saw that the price of food is spiking higher each week. Personally I'm not that worried about food prices. I can definitely afford to lose a little weight. The thing that worries me is how higher food prices are going to effect others? If you thought the poor had it rough before now just wait to see how a four dollar loaf of bread effects them!
I also think we haven't even begun to see the potential problem with energy. I keep watching the situation with Iran and wondering what the future holds. This week the Iranians staged a wargame and launched a few older missiles. They turned it into a great photo opportunity. I found a nifty bit of analysis online indicating that Iran was doing this more as bluster than any real attempt at military preparedness.
Even so it spiked the barrel price of oil higher. Now I just wonder what happens if either the United States or Israel launch a military strike at Iran. I really doubt the United States will do it but if Iran keeps developing their nuclear capability I have no doubt the Israelis will do whatever they have to do to survive.
Maybe we are not just getting ready for a strike in August? Maybe we are trying to get ready for the future in general? 7月5日 So much of the Third Reich remains a mystery...So much of the Third Reich remains a mystery...
Some of you have noticed that not much has happened on the Booming Prairie Chicken over the last couple of weeks. We haven't even had our daily 'Ghosts in the News' updates! Well, quite a bit has been happening here but as soon as I get ready to post something then some new piece of information comes in to halt the post. For a few days things came to a screeching halt as I had to decide what to do?
I have had an ongoing interest in historical mysteries for literally decades now. What they teach in the classrooms and 'Hollywood History' often ommits facts. Sometimes the facts get lost or muddled due to a variety of circumstances. Sometimes a mystery is simply that nobody survived to provide a historical record. Sometimes it is that in our information rich age the facts can become lost in daunting mountains of records that a modern society can gather. Sometimes a fact is casually overlooked if nobody understands the relevance of that fact. Sometimes historical facts can be deliberately, and ruthlessly, hidden to protect a political or personal agenda.
I have been particularly interested in the mysteries around the Second World War. I don't think there has been any other episode of history in the last century that has created so many questions. I was just about to post some of my own information on some of these two weeks ago. I had the draft saved and was really quite pleased with myself for all the things I had found.
Then information showed up that pulled the rug from under my update!
This is the nature of this sort of passion. If your work is to have any credibility you need to objectively consider every fact concerning your research. Each new fact needs to be examined and judged; this judgement should be made public and left open to dispute. Any discussion of history should be fluid and willing to change as facts change the picture of a event or individual.
Today I am going to talk about three books that have recently shown up. Two of these books are influencing some of my ideas. All three are very interesting but the ultimately judgement of their worth will remain with each reader.
The Nazis and the Occult
The Dark Forces unleashed by the Third Reich
Paul Roland
2007, Chartwell Books
ISBN-13: 978-0-7858-2308-7
ISBN-10: 0-7858-2308-5
Occult Symbols in Nazi Germany
Now anybody who has watched an 'Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark' knows that the Nazis were fascinated by the occult. The thing is most histories really ignore this mystical passion on the part of the Third Reich. This book by Paul Roland almost serves as a guide to all the different aspects of the Third Reich and the occult. If you want to learn about such things 'Ahnenerbe' or Wewelsburg Castle this book is a good place to start.
This book is not the definitive statement on any of these subjects. There have been books published on each matter of Nazi involvement with the occult that have more depth and research. The fact of the matter is that there is still quite a bit of mystery around various Nazi activities in the occult. I have several books on my shelves that discuss the SS and the mystery around Wewelsburg Castle. The 'Ahnenerbe' has recently been getting more attention from historical scholars as new documentation shows up.
Still this book is an excellent place for somebody interested in this topic to start. You just need to remember that nothing written is ever the final word on these topics. It never ceases to amaze me when somebody discovers a new document or some construction company literally unearths some piece of the past. The fact of the matter is this book did not change any of my ideas of the past but it was still a fun book to read.
Secret Agent 666
Aleister Crowley, British Intelligence and the Occult
Richard B. Spence
2008, Feral House
ISBN: 978-1-932595-33-8
Aleister Crowley
This book did influence some of my ideas on the past. Not just about the Second World War but the First World War as well! Aleister Crowley has long been a mythic figure in matter of the occult. He has long been known as the father of modern occultism but Richard Spence presents the possibility that Crowley was also a very active agent for British intelligence in both world wars. His participation in the First World War might have been more active than the Second World War but his involvement in the Second might have touched on one of the greatest mysteries of the war.
Spence demonstrates an amazing amount of activities of Crowley in the United States and helped contribute to the sinking of the Lusitania. The sinking of this ship by a German U-boat greatly contributed to the process that would eventually lead to the United States entering the war against Germany. Spence also shows how Crowley might have been conducting espionage on the United States Navy at none other than Montauk! Crowley may very well have been an agent for British Naval Intelligence and possibly using his mystical activities as a cover for some of his forays.
The most interesting part of the book was in Crowley's activities around Rudolf Hess and the mysterious flight of the Reich official to Scotland. There are lot of questions around Hess that have never been fully answered. Crowley might have had a role in Hess deciding to make his flight. It is a well known and documented fact that Hess was heavily involved in occult practices. By 1941 Crowley had established himself as a central figure in many occult circles - some reaching into Germany. It is interesting that after Hess made his shocking flight one of the official statements on the matter by Hitler was that Hess had been influenced by occult forces. This is all still a mystery and Hess finally went to the grave without publicly explaining why he did what he did.
Now the only problem I have with Spence's book can very likely be with the nature of the topic itself. If you are looking for firm documentation that states Crowley was an agent of British Intelligence you might have to wait for a long time. In fact the physical documentation might not exist at all. As I understand it many intelligence agencies find it expedient not to document everything they do. Crowley's activities in both wars could have been carried out by word of mouth. What Spence does is establish the times and locations of Crowley's meeting with British intelligence officers and Crowley's involvement with German officials. I find Spence's research compelling but until British secrecy around this is lifted we may never know all the facts.
The Rise of the Fourth Reich
The Secret Societies that threaten to take over America
Jim Marrs
2008, Harper Collins
ISBN 978-0-06-124558-9
This is not a book you are going to sit down and read in a afternoon. This is the sort of book that you read in bits and pieces and if you are serious about it you will be carefully checking the author's sources. This is the sort of book that is both the hallmark and bane of the Conspiracy Theory community. It is possible to find facts in here that are questionable and yet some facts show what might be valuable new information on historical events. It is morbidly fascinating in the implications of the book but the reader really needs to examine the facts set forth in the book. When you put the book down you will have to make a personal judgement as to whether it is marvelous research or paranoia.
This book tries to show that most of the history of the twentieth century was largely a case of various secret societies manipulating political and economic events. These efforts were always with the goal of insuring each groups position of power in the world. This book pays particular attention to the rise and fall of the Nazi party in Germany. Though Marrs does state at the outset of the book that he has no political agenda in the book there are plenty of names listed that carry implications about our current day government in the United States.
One core theme to this book is that even though Germany lost the Second World War the Nazis survived. Marrs shows that some of them managed to escape justice and might have worked their way into new positions of power elsewhere. He also shows that the United States government may have assisted some of these Nazis in their escape from justice. I am still looking at some of the facts Marrs has set forth. He has a scenario in the very beginning of the book that shows how Adolph Hitler might have escaped the bunker. It is plausible but needs greater examination.
I am holding off on my final judgement of this book as I consider the facts inside it. I really want to invite others to read the book and seriously consider what is inside. If what Marrs contends is true then we all need to be aware of it. In order to do this we must examine his facts carefully though. Conspiracy Theory can be like building a house of cards at times; so much can rest on a single card that if pulled out the entire structure collapses.
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