I just re-read Rod Dreher’s FAQ on the Benedict Option. I love it. Although Dreher is talking exclusively to Christians (though inclusively among varieties of Christians), there’s a lot there for the rest of us, as well. He opens with a quote from his inspiration, social critic and historian Alasdair MacIntyre, that says in part: A crucial turning point in that earlier history occurred when men and women of good will turned aside from the task of shoring up the Roman imperium and ceased to identify the continuation of civility and moral community with the maintenance of that imperium. What…
23 CommentsCategory: Off-Grid
Trials, travails, joys, and learning experiences of living with homemade utilities
No, not a commercial announcement on my behalf; I have NFI in any of the following. I just think they’re all worthy causes and items you might be interested in. 1. Liberty Under Attack Publications, aka the very young men who are reviving Rayo’s old freedom strategy of VONU, now have more books online. In addition to books on the vonulife, they’ve got volumes on bitcoin investing, subversion, strategy, and sedition. Who could ask for more? 2. A brief reminder that friend-of-liberty Elias Alias has expanded his Silver Seeds of Liberty line. When he’s not agitating for freedom, Elias is…
3 CommentsYou know I’m a dedicated thrift store and garage sale shopper. My habit has saved thousands of dollars over the years while also giving me the thrill of the hunt and the occasional Big Score. Must confess, though. Thrift stores can also be places to blow money on impulses. To wit: A few readers may recognize those as knitting machines. (Technically the white one is a knitting machine and the other a ribber.) I knit. Sometimes. But until earlier this week I only dimly realized that such things as kitting machines existed. Then the manager’s son spotted me pulling bags…
17 CommentsVONU: A Strategy for Self-Liberation By Shane Radliff July 2018 Liberty Under Attack Publications 126 pages This part is actually something like a book review. Mostly. So there I was, idly seeking any good reference to long-ago disappeared Rayo and his writings on the VONU life. And while most of the ‘Net seemed to have forgotten that pioneer of modern liberty, one site — one shiny site called The Vonu Podcast — was entirely dedicated to reviving Rayo’s ideas and advancing and popularizing them for the 21st century. Better yet,
9 CommentsVONU: A Strategy for Self-Liberation By Shane Radliff July 2018 Liberty Under Attack Publications 126 pages This is inspired by the above book, and I’ll have more to say about that great new read later. But keep in mind that this is not exactly a book review. —– Slip back in time roughly 50 years. Ayn Rand had shaken the foundations of the political world with Atlas Shrugged — and awakened a whole lot of intelligent, isolated young people. These young men and women knew they were neither “conservatives” nor “liberals,” but they hadn’t recognized there was a coherent philosophy…
14 CommentsI’ve been collecting these links from my sick bed all week. Heaven knows how many of them are still relevant or ever were. But in the name of tab clearing and of rewarding your patience, here they are … In all the coverage of Jayme Closs’s escape from her murdering incel captor, why isn’t this aspect of her rescue getting more press? When I first heard about this, I thought it was some Gwyneth Paltrow-level health fantasy. But apparently it’s a real: The wealthy old are now able to buy they blood of the young. Only in select enclaves, of…
12 CommentsStories and photos from a remote, off-grid community in Scotland. There is yet another e-coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce. The FDA recommends tossing any romaine you might have. (I got this word from MJ yesterday evening … five minutes after finishing a big salad made with guess what? I seem to have survived the experience so far.) How a six-year-old survived being lost in the woods while walking 18 miles toward safety. He’s 39 now and revisits his trek with a writer from Outside. FBI data shows that armed citizens are 94% successful in stopping would-be mass shooters. (Via…
4 CommentsOver at the Cabal forums we’ve been discussing a couple of related issues: being as prepared as possible before moving ahead with plans; and why people make choices to live in seemingly crazy places — like that one that’s now disappearing in lava in Hawaii. I took not the hard-hard line, but also not the softline on being prepared for what you’re getting into. Sometimes you just have to take a leap, but such leaps are best taken once you’ve thought things out and learned what you can learn. That pulled me back to a moment I’d prefer not to…
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