Equilibrium
Out past the city limits in Eagle Point, Oregon is a dirt road leading around a bend in the river, and out of sight past a hay field on the left and copses of tall whispering trees on the right. My wife and I lived on her Grandmother’s seventy acre ranch for the summer. It was the summer after I graduated from college and Tamie was heavy with our first child. Her grandfather had died earlier that year and I was tending to the hay farm; fixing the tractor and moving pipe.
Grandma Ernie had a soft spot for cats. We counted fifty-six at one time, most of them feral types keeping to themselves under the porch or out in the woods. She would buy fifty pound bags of cat food and split them open with box knife on the back porch. Raccoons and other local animals would join in the nocturnal feast.
When Grandma Ernie passed on I imagine most of those cats died of starvation. Whole litters of kittens reduced to bones.
In unrelated news…
I read this morning that the F-22 program was cut. Here’s an excerpt:
F-22 supporters complained the action would be a blow to long-term national defense — and cost thousands of jobs in the middle of the recession.
My humble insight: The F-22 program already costs jobs. It sucks them out of small businesses like mine. For everything that the government does visibly, it evaporates something in greater proportion invisibly. This is effected forcibly through a trio of evils: taxation, inflation, or public debt.
The difference is that in the private sector the job is created by actual demand of someone like you who chooses to buy a product or service, whilst in the government sector the job is created through other forces that may or may not be in your interest. It is done by force. How much government is good for the general welfare of the people? In my opinion it’s about one quarter what we have now*.
Blue Table Painting exists because you want painted miniatures. You are best suited to decide what your money is good for. The more local the decision, the more efficiently and wisely it will be done as a general rule.
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What would it look like if the federal government lived within its means? What would you see on the news? If a president or some members of congress took a stand on staying within budget, what do you think would be said of them?
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Mmmmm… Rachel Maddow is delicious(ly engaging). And she’s talking about the same thing.
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*if the income tax were eliminated and replaced with nothing it would reduce the federal budget by approximately 40%. It is my opinion that the government could do everything it needs to do with that amount of revenue. Imagine for one glorious moment what that would mean: no tax returns, no revealing your money matters to a stranger every year. For my miniscule business it would mean one more person could be hired.
Saruman Speaks
Notice how they don’t want to be audited. They are “warning” Congress (ie your representative up there) not to do it.
The common man cannot possibly understand all this. How much smoother things would be if we left it to our betters.
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Time to get on the phone. Here is how to get contact information for your Senator (you have two):
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And Congressman (your have one):
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Remember, you represent all the people who didn’t call!
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An Idea from the Left:
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Higher Enzymatic Content
My electric shaver broke today. Well, more like “died of natural causes”. I bought it the week we arrived in Utah. How little at the time I knew the distress and joy I would experience here.
Anyway, the shaver had a cleaning station thing, that required the purchase of special solution in pairs, $25 a pop. That’s how they get you. But I just cleaned it by hand this last year. Suckers. No more solution-gouging for me!
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Wouldn’t it be funny if that’s what burned out the shaver?
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It was an insanely busy day. I still have three slots open for this round of Pandora. It makes me happy.
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I am in the process of refurbishing a Tyranid army. I am adding some things to it. Those should arrive later this week.
Pandora’s Permanency
I plan on running the Pandora special until further notice. So, hop on board when you are ready. I’m still going to do them in “runs”, like trains that depart with a small group of passengers about once a month. But you can get on whenever you like.
Pick your options and send half down. Don’t need to ask permission.
Next train departs in about a week. Then once a month after that. Approximately. You can be “seated” any time you please.
Remember, if you’ve ever had an army painted by us, you can trade it in for credit for a new one. I account for the total price you paid (not just the materials) as part of the offer. Case by case basis. More details a few posts back.
Low on the Hog
I’m becoming some kind of suburban mormon hippie. Sulking against the machine.
Dane lent me some Regina Spektor. She’s sort of a slightly happier, less abstract version of Tori Amos. Who I adore.
I picked up a desk for my home office off of freecycle. My wife found it online. So cheap and juicy! One morning, unshowered, I hopped in the car and headed down there to pick it up, my four-year old son coming along for the adventure.
I am convinced now that you can live well off the leavings of the wealthy. Of course, wealthy is a relative term. I’ve heard that by having a car, a fridge, and a toilet you’re in the top five percent. Anyone want to back that up?
Once, when my wife and I were childless and broke and working for poverty wages, we dreamed of how much money we’d like to make every month. A number that seemed at the time so high (when we were bringing home like $850 a month), more than we could possibly spend, like who could possibly even blow that amount of dough every thirty days, now doesn’t seem like that much. Of course, we were clueless as to how much it would cost to maintain four kids.
She also found three really nice dress shirts, pressed and dry cleaned, for $1.00 each at a garage sale. They are high-thread-count-tastic. I sprayed them with some of my cologne to make them my own. The human version of pissing out my territory.
Say that reminds me of a story. While tracting (door to door) on my mission in Chile (possibly the most onerous task known to man– a labor of love, be nice to them, I believe it’s good karma) we ran into this guy, who in a thick accent called his dog to introduce them to the Mormons. This pony-sized black creature trotted out and sniffed us. Then it lifted a monstrous left leg and gushed out a torrent of musky urine on our dress shoes. “Ali!” he chided (for that was the dog’s name), “bad dog, these are our guests!”. But I think I detected the edges of his lips curling upwards.
And if you made it this far without slipping into a coma, I have published two posts below that I had taken off so as not to inundate you with non-gaming stuff. But what the heck, why let them go to waste.
For those still conscious, I will tell you what I had for breakfast. A ham and egg sandwich on an english muffin with pineapple juice. Nighty night.
For you young people, keep your chin up. Life gets way better. Behind the veil your ancestors are rooting for you. And I’m rooting for you, too. I remember well the electrical storms in my mind.
Dream of the Tickets
I had a dream last night. I was standing in front of the stage in the church (which in the dream was also my home and my studio) and a government worker came up to me. He told me that he had money to give me, but instead he handed me a roll of tickets, about the size of a hockey puck. He said they were valuable and that the following day I could go to the bank and find out how much they were worth.
He then proceeded to hand me three more rolls, each larger than the last which was the size of a movie reel.
Then he handed me a giant mass of disorganized tickets. I was thinking how I could keep them safe overnight. I opened the cupboards and they were packed full of food.
Here is my take on the meaning of the dream. There will be four years of significant inflation, then in the fifth year there will be an unraveling. It is wise to keep real commodities stocked.
Not saying anything prophetic here. Just a dream I had. Even an idiot can see the writing on the wall. Now, I’m not a doomsayer. I have great faith that even through trials the good men and women of this great country will hold together. They will do it in spite of the crooked policies of the degenerate elite. I believe the key is in the education of the masses. We should be asking questions, getting involved, communicating, reading, and calling our leaders to account. We must be like wolves; brazen, organized, independent-minded.
If I can take it a step further. I have been thinking a lot recently about how to apply all this in a practical and useful way. I read a conspiracy theory book last year. It didn’t help much. Even if it were true, I couldn’t do anything about it. Where is my power? I cast my vote and I feel like it’s like throwing a pea at a tank. In Utah the vote goes like 70% republican no matter what.
But I have this blog. Pretty sure readership is over 2000. It’s my dream that ten people will vote Independent (or Real Republican or even fiscally conservative Democrat! Good grief, anyone who will stay in budget looks good now) in 2010 on account of my influence. That will make my day. Let me know if you’re one of them. I want people to feel sassy about their constitutional rights. Even if you go in for the exact opposite; great, at least you jumped in the ring.
Anyway, my short term goal (for 2009-2010) is to disconnect from the banks. I don’t want anything to do with their dirty business. Whatever I can do to assert my independence. More to come on that.
Blarg, these wouldn’t be so long if I weren’t such a demon on the keyboard!
Game Wise
Firstly, early next week you’re going to see 4000 points of Tau coming off the line. We went for a true red and white color scheme. Armor plates are red, and white is a solid accent. They look quite striking, and patches of green static grass make them pop.
Likewise for Deathguard, two armies, each 2000 points for the Pandora’s army special (still booking for that) are going under the brush this coming week. Same for Wood Elves. Same for Imperial Guard (but only 2000 points).
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We are very happy with how the Pandora’s armies are coming out.
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I was planning on playing Death Korps vs Orks today, but Renn didn’t show up until later, so we are postponing it until Monday.
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Tomorrow is the Batrep of Vampire Counts vs Warriors of Chaos.
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I am going to start painting up Legion of Everblight for Hordes. We have a bunch of models ready for paint. Dane is taking too long.
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We got in a few of the new Planetstrike terrain kits: Shrine of the Aquila and a Strongpoint. I did a video review of those, they should be up soon.
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We are really busy and I haven’t been able to drum up any games of Hordes. But I am still intent on keeping that going. I have no other armies in the works.
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I got a Tyranid army in trade (black carapace, orange/yellow skin) and I plan on refurbishing that.
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I’m booking projects for August. We are running our usual specials. Additionally, I have four slots still open for the Pandora special (see below for details).
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On top of that I have one spot open for the Hero of the Imperium deal. I have the intention of never running this again. It is by far the best deal ever. See post below for details.
If ignorance is bliss, why aren’t more people happy?
Quotes from Thomas Jefferson
[Picture: Thomas Jefferson reincarnated in our day.]
Enlighten the people, generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like spirits at the dawn of day.
The ground of liberty is to be gained by inches, and we must be contented to secure what we can get from time to time and eternally press forward for what is yet to get. It takes time to persuade men to do even what is for their own good.
If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them, they must become happy.
Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we should soon want bread.
If we run into such debts as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our callings and our creeds, as the people of England are, our people, like them, must come to labor sixteen hours in the twenty-four, and give the earnings of fifteen of these to the government for their debts and daily expenses; And the sixteen being insufficient to afford us bread, we must live, as they do now, on oatmeal and potatoes, have no time to think, no means of calling the mismanagers to account; But be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains around the necks of our fellow sufferers; And this is the tendency of all human governments. A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for a second, that second for a third, and so on ’til the bulk of society is reduced to mere automatons of misery, to have no sensibilities left but for sinning and suffering…and the forehorse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression.
The central bank is an institution of the most deadly hostility existing against the Principles and form of our Constitution. I am an Enemy to all banks discounting bills or notes for anything but Coin. If the American People allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the People of all their Property until their Children will wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered.
Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those whom we are obliged to trust with power.
A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular; and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inferences.
The Constitution of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed and that they are entitled to freedom of person, freedom of religion, freedom of property, and freedom of press.
And lastly,
The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers. [I daresay this is the case in our day with talk radio]
Oligarchy
As I’m thinking all this stuff over there is an elephant that keeps sneaking into the room.
What prevents the accumulation of wealth and power into the hands of a few? I imagine some Libertarian paradise if only the government would leave us alone, but more likely an oligarchy-type thing would just raise up in its place.
A progressive tax code (ie more taxes the more you make) is one way to accomplish this. If only the government could be trusted to administer it equitably. The worst situation is when government is in bed with the business, becoming, effectively a tool to force the will of the oligarchs on the people.
This is apparent in the book Open Veins of Latin America. Long story short: capitalism didn’t work out so well for the central american indians.
The consolidation of power and resources is the root of Tyranny. The dispersal of those things is Liberty.
As a side note this ties into Mormon cosmology: Heavenly Father disperses unlimited resources to the individual and gives freedom of choice. His Adversary vows to take the treasures of the earth and consolidate military, economic and religious power to oppress mankind.
New Lamps for Old Program
If you have ever bought an army from BTP, and would like to trade it in for a credit. Let me know what you have. I will trade it in for 20-35% of it’s full original value (in credit for service/materials), plus a credit for the shipping back. Email me at bluetablepainting@gmail.com if you are interested.
There are some materials that we cannot acquire with credit, notably Forge World.