Cabalistas (or people who might want to be): For those who haven’t visited the Cabal in a while, our community is growing and we have a little something for everybody going on in current discussions. A sampling: We’ve got a thread on “things made with milk” (with the biggest thing being cheese, but plenty of related items, as well); there’s a discussion on the meaning of survival, both in terms of “survivalism” and in terms of life; and we’re extremely fortunate to be getting lessons in the art of statement analysis, a powerful technique for determining the truthfulness (or not)…
Category: Practical Freedom
A broad category of things we can do, or things others are doing, to increase personal freedom
A few years ago, two of the many kind readers of this blog sent a substantial donation specifically for buying a generator. The money they sent was enough to purchase an inexpensive generator — or make a good start on saving for the compact Honda or Yamaha they knew was on my wish list. They gave me that option. My choice. I decided to stash the donation and keep on saving for the Dream Generator. While it made me nervous not to have backup power, I figured that — not being particularly a Ms Fixit — I needed the reliability,…
If you’re a member of Claire’s Cabal and you haven’t stopped by the forums lately, I hope you’ll drop in and maybe stick around. Current doings: We’ve just opened the “Members Helping Members” section where cabalistas can offer their assistance on anything from transportation and relocation to their professional specialties. We’ve got several lively new discussions going on, from an easy-newsy one about the “Hamiltonian” electors to the quite deep topic, “The spiritual dimension of freedom.” We always have something going on about money (sound or unsound) and economics in Silver’s Corner. And there are several excellent recent threads on…
I don’t mention Claire’s Cabal much. But it seems time for a small update. First, we have a couple of public areas in the forum, to give a small taste. I’ve just posted a copy of this excellent article by Silver where anyone can see it. If you thought you knew every malign effect of the Federal Reserve, he describes one you probably hadn’t considered. Second, we’re in the process of starting up a “Members Helping Members” section where volunteers can offer assistance with anything from transportation and a place to stay to professional advice. Just announced it today and…
… it’s a good wake-up call for anybody who might face a widespread natural disaster (which is, of course, everybody). Last summer, a vast exercise called Cascadia Rising was quietly carried out through the Northwest. For government types and emergency-service providers only, it made barely a bump in the consciousness of ordinary people — which may prove to be the ultimate flaw in its design, but that’s a question for another day. Cascadia Rising was designed to test emergency response in event of a “full rip” earthquake along the Cascadia subduction zone. Full-rip means a monster, a megaquake, 9.0 or…
We’re cruising down life’s highway and we find ourselves backed up in traffic by a colossal wreck. Glass and metal and blood and guts are strewn everywhere. Some survivors scream for help, while others lie bleeding out, pierced by steering wheels and shards of glass. But never fear! First responders are already on the scene. The experts will soon handle the ghastly situation. Except that the “experts” on this particular highway of life are standing there screeching at each other about their Twitter messages, tax returns, fat-shaming, mutual degrees of personal and financial corruption, and whether or not they enabled…