[greekfire]

I must admit that I was utterly against gay marriage a number of years ago. I thought, “Marriage is a sacred institution, a sacred bond between a man and a women in the eyes of God.” I likened it to my perceived hijacking of the symbol of the rainbow by the homosexual community, which represented God’s covenant to Man that he would not destroy the Earth by water again.

As I age, I find myself taking a step back, and letting the forces of God and nature do their own work. If two consenting adults, of their own free will, want to enter into a contract of marriage, then so be it…regardless of their sexual orientation. The government, in my experience, seems to, in a time of need, trumpet issues like gay marriage before the people in an effort to rally support from their respective bases.

In a free society let lawful, tax-paying citizens live their lives as they wish, so long as it does not infringe upon the rights of others.

“Give me liberty or give me death!” – Patrick Henry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_me_liberty_or_give_me_death

[greekfire]

I must admit that I was utterly against gay marriage a number of years ago. I thought, “Marriage is a sacred institution, a sacred bond between a man and a women in the eyes of God.” I likened it to my perceived hijacking of the symbol of the rainbow by the homosexual community, which represented God’s covenant to Man that he would not destroy the Earth by water again.

As I age, I find myself taking a step back, and letting the forces of God and nature do their own work. If two consenting adults, of their own free will, want to enter into a contract of marriage, then so be it…regardless of their sexual orientation. The government, in my experience, seems to, in a time of need, trumpet issues like gay marriage before the people in an effort to rally support from their respective bases.

In a free society let lawful, tax-paying citizens live their lives as they wish, so long as it does not infringe upon the rights of others.

“Give me liberty or give me death!” – Patrick Henry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_me_liberty_or_give_me_death

[greekfire]

I must admit that I was utterly against gay marriage a number of years ago. I thought, “Marriage is a sacred institution, a sacred bond between a man and a women in the eyes of God.” I likened it to my perceived hijacking of the symbol of the rainbow by the homosexual community, which represented God’s covenant to Man that he would not destroy the Earth by water again.

As I age, I find myself taking a step back, and letting the forces of God and nature do their own work. If two consenting adults, of their own free will, want to enter into a contract of marriage, then so be it…regardless of their sexual orientation. The government, in my experience, seems to, in a time of need, trumpet issues like gay marriage before the people in an effort to rally support from their respective bases.

In a free society let lawful, tax-paying citizens live their lives as they wish, so long as it does not infringe upon the rights of others.

“Give me liberty or give me death!” – Patrick Henry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_me_liberty_or_give_me_death

[greekfire]

I get the logic behind putting water/food outside so that the ants don’t come inside. However, I would caution against putting out past-due meat as it will likely draw coons, rats, and other vermin, and it will generally stink. One alternative is to use a composter such as the Earth Machine:
http://www.earthmachine.com/

I bring this up because I installed 2 Earth Machines on the south side of the home we are renting and ant activity in our home has actually decreased this year as opposed to last. I had no idea of this theory until I scooped out some of the compost from the composters earlier this morning. I was shoveling it into a wheelbarrow and there were so many ants I got a bit dizzy because it looked like the ground was moving.

Even though you might be renting, I still would recommend sealing off as many access points as you can. Our guest bathroom was a particular problem and after studying the ant’s movements I noticed that they tended to enter from behind the medicine cabinet. I got so fed up that one day I removed the medicine cabinet and completely caulked the wall behind it.

As for the pet food dishes you can try putting the food dish in a pan or slightly larger bowl of water.

[greekfire]

I get the logic behind putting water/food outside so that the ants don’t come inside. However, I would caution against putting out past-due meat as it will likely draw coons, rats, and other vermin, and it will generally stink. One alternative is to use a composter such as the Earth Machine:
http://www.earthmachine.com/

I bring this up because I installed 2 Earth Machines on the south side of the home we are renting and ant activity in our home has actually decreased this year as opposed to last. I had no idea of this theory until I scooped out some of the compost from the composters earlier this morning. I was shoveling it into a wheelbarrow and there were so many ants I got a bit dizzy because it looked like the ground was moving.

Even though you might be renting, I still would recommend sealing off as many access points as you can. Our guest bathroom was a particular problem and after studying the ant’s movements I noticed that they tended to enter from behind the medicine cabinet. I got so fed up that one day I removed the medicine cabinet and completely caulked the wall behind it.

As for the pet food dishes you can try putting the food dish in a pan or slightly larger bowl of water.

[greekfire]

I get the logic behind putting water/food outside so that the ants don’t come inside. However, I would caution against putting out past-due meat as it will likely draw coons, rats, and other vermin, and it will generally stink. One alternative is to use a composter such as the Earth Machine:
http://www.earthmachine.com/

I bring this up because I installed 2 Earth Machines on the south side of the home we are renting and ant activity in our home has actually decreased this year as opposed to last. I had no idea of this theory until I scooped out some of the compost from the composters earlier this morning. I was shoveling it into a wheelbarrow and there were so many ants I got a bit dizzy because it looked like the ground was moving.

Even though you might be renting, I still would recommend sealing off as many access points as you can. Our guest bathroom was a particular problem and after studying the ant’s movements I noticed that they tended to enter from behind the medicine cabinet. I got so fed up that one day I removed the medicine cabinet and completely caulked the wall behind it.

As for the pet food dishes you can try putting the food dish in a pan or slightly larger bowl of water.

[greekfire]

I get the logic behind putting water/food outside so that the ants don’t come inside. However, I would caution against putting out past-due meat as it will likely draw coons, rats, and other vermin, and it will generally stink. One alternative is to use a composter such as the Earth Machine:
http://www.earthmachine.com/

I bring this up because I installed 2 Earth Machines on the south side of the home we are renting and ant activity in our home has actually decreased this year as opposed to last. I had no idea of this theory until I scooped out some of the compost from the composters earlier this morning. I was shoveling it into a wheelbarrow and there were so many ants I got a bit dizzy because it looked like the ground was moving.

Even though you might be renting, I still would recommend sealing off as many access points as you can. Our guest bathroom was a particular problem and after studying the ant’s movements I noticed that they tended to enter from behind the medicine cabinet. I got so fed up that one day I removed the medicine cabinet and completely caulked the wall behind it.

As for the pet food dishes you can try putting the food dish in a pan or slightly larger bowl of water.

[greekfire]

I get the logic behind putting water/food outside so that the ants don’t come inside. However, I would caution against putting out past-due meat as it will likely draw coons, rats, and other vermin, and it will generally stink. One alternative is to use a composter such as the Earth Machine:
http://www.earthmachine.com/

I bring this up because I installed 2 Earth Machines on the south side of the home we are renting and ant activity in our home has actually decreased this year as opposed to last. I had no idea of this theory until I scooped out some of the compost from the composters earlier this morning. I was shoveling it into a wheelbarrow and there were so many ants I got a bit dizzy because it looked like the ground was moving.

Even though you might be renting, I still would recommend sealing off as many access points as you can. Our guest bathroom was a particular problem and after studying the ant’s movements I noticed that they tended to enter from behind the medicine cabinet. I got so fed up that one day I removed the medicine cabinet and completely caulked the wall behind it.

As for the pet food dishes you can try putting the food dish in a pan or slightly larger bowl of water.

[greekfire]

In my humble opinion, the more decentralized we are, be it in energy, economics, or government rule, the better off we will generally be. Self-sufficiency is a term that is completely foreign to our society these days. Those who consider an off-grid, or semi off-grid lifestyle are labeled as hermits and kooks. Just think what it would be like if people could provide all, or at least a portion of, their own energy via solar panels, or grew some of their own food.

[greekfire]

In my humble opinion, the more decentralized we are, be it in energy, economics, or government rule, the better off we will generally be. Self-sufficiency is a term that is completely foreign to our society these days. Those who consider an off-grid, or semi off-grid lifestyle are labeled as hermits and kooks. Just think what it would be like if people could provide all, or at least a portion of, their own energy via solar panels, or grew some of their own food.

[greekfire]

In my humble opinion, the more decentralized we are, be it in energy, economics, or government rule, the better off we will generally be. Self-sufficiency is a term that is completely foreign to our society these days. Those who consider an off-grid, or semi off-grid lifestyle are labeled as hermits and kooks. Just think what it would be like if people could provide all, or at least a portion of, their own energy via solar panels, or grew some of their own food.

[greekfire]

In my humble opinion, the more decentralized we are, be it in energy, economics, or government rule, the better off we will generally be. Self-sufficiency is a term that is completely foreign to our society these days. Those who consider an off-grid, or semi off-grid lifestyle are labeled as hermits and kooks. Just think what it would be like if people could provide all, or at least a portion of, their own energy via solar panels, or grew some of their own food.

[greekfire]

In my humble opinion, the more decentralized we are, be it in energy, economics, or government rule, the better off we will generally be. Self-sufficiency is a term that is completely foreign to our society these days. Those who consider an off-grid, or semi off-grid lifestyle are labeled as hermits and kooks. Just think what it would be like if people could provide all, or at least a portion of, their own energy via solar panels, or grew some of their own food.

[greekfire]

In my relatively short life I remember a similar sentiment in the late 80s/early 90s as Japan was rising rapidly. My homeroom teacher in high school used to tell us that Japanese students attended more days of school, studied harder, and their government spent way more on education and much less on defense than the US did. This was post-Cold War and if we didn’t have a war to fight, we needed some other reason to become stronger, and we did this by building up fears of a dominant Japan. I am sure there were similar cases made during the Cold War about how USSR students and society were better educated, better trained, and that their gov’t was better prepared financially and militarily, etc.

The point here is that yes, I feel we are not as strong as we should be. With that said, it will always behoove us to work hard and smart, live within our means, save, and invest wisely. In my opinion we have failed on most if not all of the above accounts recently.

What’s more, I feel that America has turned into the land of “poor me” rather than “strong me”. Just watch some of the old movies (pre-1950s or so) and you will see what I mean. People back then that had a cold, addiction, disease, or some other deficiency were loathe to disclose it and were too proud (almost to a fault) to admit so and ask for help. Society expected individuals to do their best to lift themselves up by their own bootstraps. Asking for government handouts was a sign of weakness and akin to throwing in the towel in a sense.

Today, conversely, people are encouraged and even given an incentive to not try to be as strong or fit as they can be. They are rewarded more for taking themselves out of the game and hanging on the sidelines for whatever reason(s). This is not to say that there is not a need for gov’t assistance. It’s just to show that when gov’t assistance is encouraged and incentivized, generations of citizens are raised to become dependent on it. Why go to work or try to start a small business for yourself when you can kick back and accept a gov’t handout every month? Oh, and if you still want to do/earn more than the average person, the gov’t will tax you progressively higher than the rest. Where’s the incentive to excel here?

China has become the new Japan…
America has become the new Europe.

We need to reconsider what we think the role of government ought to be in our lives.

[greekfire]

In my relatively short life I remember a similar sentiment in the late 80s/early 90s as Japan was rising rapidly. My homeroom teacher in high school used to tell us that Japanese students attended more days of school, studied harder, and their government spent way more on education and much less on defense than the US did. This was post-Cold War and if we didn’t have a war to fight, we needed some other reason to become stronger, and we did this by building up fears of a dominant Japan. I am sure there were similar cases made during the Cold War about how USSR students and society were better educated, better trained, and that their gov’t was better prepared financially and militarily, etc.

The point here is that yes, I feel we are not as strong as we should be. With that said, it will always behoove us to work hard and smart, live within our means, save, and invest wisely. In my opinion we have failed on most if not all of the above accounts recently.

What’s more, I feel that America has turned into the land of “poor me” rather than “strong me”. Just watch some of the old movies (pre-1950s or so) and you will see what I mean. People back then that had a cold, addiction, disease, or some other deficiency were loathe to disclose it and were too proud (almost to a fault) to admit so and ask for help. Society expected individuals to do their best to lift themselves up by their own bootstraps. Asking for government handouts was a sign of weakness and akin to throwing in the towel in a sense.

Today, conversely, people are encouraged and even given an incentive to not try to be as strong or fit as they can be. They are rewarded more for taking themselves out of the game and hanging on the sidelines for whatever reason(s). This is not to say that there is not a need for gov’t assistance. It’s just to show that when gov’t assistance is encouraged and incentivized, generations of citizens are raised to become dependent on it. Why go to work or try to start a small business for yourself when you can kick back and accept a gov’t handout every month? Oh, and if you still want to do/earn more than the average person, the gov’t will tax you progressively higher than the rest. Where’s the incentive to excel here?

China has become the new Japan…
America has become the new Europe.

We need to reconsider what we think the role of government ought to be in our lives.

[Author]

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