ARE YOU READY?????

[leftofthedial]

For the Greatest Depression?

I mean really ready? Ready as in ready to be homeless? Ready to stare through the glass of the restaurant window at the haves feasting whily you do not have food to feed yourself or your kids? Ready to be sick and helpless?

Do you know the best dumpsters in your neighborhood to find edible food scraps? Do you know where to find another coat or a blanket when you get beat up by thieves who steal yours? Do you know where to find a shower? Or a meal? Or a bed for the night?

We are in the shitter, folks. Hucksters have stolen trillions and trillions and trillions from us. Then they tricked us into borrowing trillions and trillions and trillions more, which they also stole. And we sat around arguing about the decor of the sewer into which we and generations of our offspring were being thrown.

There is nothing left with which to try and solve our problems except our collective will. Trouble is, half of us apparently approve of the "free market," supply-side corporatism that created this mess, so long as it comes packaged with a "D" by its name, so "collective" will is nonexistent. We are screwn. Fuckt. Zotzed.



HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

[Avalux]

1. I'm ready.

It is, after all, inevitable. Have you seen this?

www.thestoryofstuff.com

Well worth the watch.

[leftofthedial]

26. excellent

[KoKo]

50. Here's a little something else to go with that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQqTxK7VhSk

[Fire1]

62. Got 1/4 of the way through and became more depressed.

[Taverner]

2. Fear! Fear! We're all gonna die!!! Hide!!!

RUN!!!!! WE'LL ALL BE ON MOTORCYCLES WEARING JACKETS MADE OF HUMAN SKIN!!!

[leftofthedial]

3. I hope you have a hat.

I'd hate for the sky to hurt your head when it falls.

[Buzz Clik]

5. Really? The sky is falling? I've heard that story before...

[leftofthedial]

10. and the End is Near!

[Taverner]

11. AND WE WILL ALL BE FORCED TO LEARN ESPERANTO!!!!!

[leftofthedial]

14. you mean you don't know Esperanto?

:eyes:

[jakem]

17. Ĉu vi akceptas kredit-kartojn?

Mi volas aĉeti bovaĵon.

[leftofthedial]

22. I couldn't agree more.

[derby378]

20. Screw that - I'm learning Klingon

:evilgrin:

[Buzz Clik]

28. I'll be communicating only in binary from hence forth.

010011110110111001100011011001010010000001001001
001000000110001001110101011010010110110001110100
001000000110000100100000011100100110000101101001
011011000111001001101111011000010110010000100000
011011100110111101110111001000000110100101110100
001001110111001100100000011001000110111101101110
011001010010111000100000010000100111010101100100
011001000111100100101100001000000110001101100001
011011100010000001111001011011110111010100100000
011100110111000001100001011100100110010100100000
011000010010000001100100011010010110110101100101
00111111

[uppityperson]

39. make sure you hold on to some of those ones. You may need them later when they

get more difficult to find.

[Ikonoklast]

44. Don't talk about my Mom like that.

You sister is a 11010010110100101 that likes to 100100111101000011110 0010101001111011.

So there.

[IDemo]

54. Typo in bit# 124, but I get your gist

[Buzz Clik]

69. 0101100101100 101011000010110100000 1011100010111000101110

0010111000101110001011100010000001001001001 0000001101011011011100110010101110111001000 0001101001011101000010000001100001011101000 0100000011101000110100001100001011101000010 0000011101000110100101101101011001010010110 0001000000110001001110101011101000010000001 0010010010000001110111011000010111001100100 0000111010001101111011011110010000001101100 0110000101111010011110010010000001110100011 0111100100000011000110110111101110010011100 1001100101011000110111010000100000011010010 1110100001011100010000000111010011100110110 100001110010011101010110011100111010

[Critters2]

55. 0111010001001111111.

Freak. :eyes:

[KamaAina]

60. This is HUGH!!!!!110001!!!10011!!1011

:P

[hunter]

76. I'd prefer Novial, it's easier for me to type.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novial

[Dogmudgeon]

77. Hezitu Ne -- Lernu Hodiau!

:malbonega_ridetacxo:

:evilgrin:

--p!

[cali]

75. your op is stupid fear mongering and I'm probably a fuck of a sight

more prepared than you. I still despise fear mongering no matter how dire things are. Oh, and you don't have a fucking crystal ball, dearie. There's really no way of knowing at this point whether we're in for a long tough recession or a full blown depression. Forgive me if I place more trust in such people as Joseph Stiglitz than the like of you.

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. !!

:woohoo: :evilgrin:

[Buzz Clik]

4. Bush admin: "Terrorists! Be afraid!"; Today: "It's the great depression! Be afraid!"

[leftofthedial]

27. tomorrow:

"Please don't hit me anymore! Just take my coat!"

[Taverner]

48. We have to get out of this fear-based mentality

It's destroying the world, the economy...but above all, its destroying US

[babylonsister]

7. Too much coffee?

:shrug:

[leftofthedial]

8. not enough

[carlyhippy]

9. I don't think this would be the same as the 1930's depression

No internet, no news, people were more innocent and not as street smart as we are today. I foresee if your scenario becomes real, I see people not leaving their homes because they will blockade themselves in them and will violently dare anyone to come and try and put them on the street. I see store lootings nationwide, car stealing, bank robberies, old west lawlessness, there will not be enough law to control the masses if they are hungry and homeless. The govt best step up and do something to put this country back together again, I hope to never see another depression, because it will not be pretty IMHO.

But, on a sidenote, there won't be any more bills due, no money to pay for them

[sixmile]

12. I foresee a return of 'collectives' in the US

Disaffected, unemployed and homeless groups of desperate people working together to grow crops, fish and farm, provide shelter and security, and educate their children to create a homogenous culture apart from modernity. Think agrarian communes.
The problem is that there is no land on which to squat, nor leaders to lead. And unlike early twentieth century utopian societies these collectives will be a matter of dire necessity not choice.

[leftofthedial]

29. idyllic sounding,

but where are they then?

I know of some collective communities, but they are not self sufficient and they actually are quite expensive to participate in.

[sixmile]

32. I posted 'foresee' not 'see'

Surely you'll agree that the idea of these collectives or 'Hoovervilles' is not far fetched if there are no jobs for the unemployed.

[leftofthedial]

34. I've actually spoken seriously with friends about how to go about

establishing a collective

[crispini]

72. I have a collective in my neighborhood.

It's not much of one, yet -- we own a truck and some tools and a small garden together. But it's a start. Everyone needs to get out and meet their neighbors and start talking to them about stuff.

[leftofthedial]

84. I've been researching starting a community garden/small farm collective.

it appears to be all but impossible in my community.

[liberal N proud]

13. Can anyone truly be ready for this impending disaster?

We have all had 8 years warning. Yet I don't see how one can actually be prepared for this.

[leftofthedial]

15. No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

16. BAHHHHHHH ROARRRRRRR SNARFFFFF GARBLE GARBLE ROARRRRRR!!!!!!

[dbt]

59. Thank God It Passed!

[MadinMo]

18. Good question. But how do you KNOW if you are ready?

What can ANYONE do to get ready?

We have about 3 1/2 years left on a mortgage. We live on a small acreage, we heat with firewood, we have a vegetable garden, but I still work in town and will work until they run me off or my retirement comes along. We don't raise animals, but MrMadinMo has the knowledge to do so when we decide to get some (chickens, pigs, maybe beef, rabbits). We have a few skills that I think will tide us over --- I can sew, preserve food, and cook a meal from scratch. MrMadinMo has a good knowledge of tools, he has carpentry skills, knows some about solar power. He can hunt and tan a hide and make beautiful leather. I'd still very much like to learn to make soap with rendered fat, sew with my treadle sewing machine, learn about wild edibles, make cheese, etc.

I've been thinking all along that having skills for self sufficiency is what we need to prepare for an economic crash. But seriously I am not sure what anyone can do to be ready. I don't think the largest part of Americans has anywhere near the skills they will need to be self sufficient.

Unless you are speaking about being psychologically ready for poverty.

I'm eager to read what others think being ready means.

[Hannah Bell]

53. ha-ha. on DU it involves quickly buying your isolated piece of land, complete with

clear-running stream or well, building your fuel-efficient home with solar power, & starting your organic garden & herd of goats or chickens. or arranging trade relations with neighbors enjoying same. edit: plus "guns".

but for most of us, it involves stocking up on food & water, making lots of friends, & hoping things won't get too bad.

[XemaSab]

63. Here's what I think being ready means:

(And understand, this is NOT where I'm at now.)

Gardens so you can grow your own veggies. Chickens for eggs. Grapes, peaches, oranges, elderberries, and apples for fruit and alcohol. Nuts. Stocked rice and wheat. MJ plants. A hand-pump well. A nearby river. :)

Guns. Dogs. :(

[MineralMan]

19. Oh, Noes! Sky Falling! Run for Lives!

Uff da! If I were you, I'd head for the hills and hide in a cave there. Then, cover your ears and eyes and hold on tight!

[leftofthedial]

24. I'm already dead in a cave

most of us are.

[Neshanic]

21. Considering that people like this person in the video are raked over the coals

by supposededly the smartest people in the country, I think I will take his advice, and not beso flippant as others here, thinking nothing will get worse.

For your consideration...with dates.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I0QN-FYkpw

[sandnsea]

23. Are food stamps going to end?

LIHEAP, WIC, school lunches? Calm down.

[leftofthedial]

25. have you applied?

do you know anyone who relies on them?

[sandnsea]

35. Yes I know people who rely on them

Do you?

[earth mom]

30. And the bastards are ready to steal the last of the good paying blue collar jobs that are left

in this country.

Jobs that contribute to the economy and contribute to the tax base.


We have been royally screwed and I don't think Obama was the answer this country needed because he is at heart, a corporatist. :(

[leftofthedial]

31. yes he's a corporatist and a free marketeer

and yes they are stealing the last good jobs



but don't worry--all these DUers think things will be just swell!

[earth mom]

36. Well, those DUers better get ready for the Great Depression 2 then, because this country

needs those union jobs now more than ever.

[SammyWinstonJack]

38. The one viable candidate who would have fought against the corporations, Edwards, was

marginalized and run off. x( And then they politically assassinated him so that he would never be considered viable again, on the political scene. Granted he did f**k up, on a personal level, but they didn't need to expose him, as they did. I am sure I will get flamed for stating this. :shrug:

[earth mom]

51. You won't get flamed by me. I think Edwards would have kicked butt instead of playing buddy buddy

like Obama is doing. The powers that be set out to wipe Edwards off the map and they succeeded.


But "Hope and Change" sure sold the hell out of the Obama ticket and helped them win the election didn't it?

Even though the words "Hope and Change" is nothing more than empty rhetoric to the people that are really running the show in Washington DC. x(

[XemaSab]

67. I'm not even going to take the time to argue with this

n/t

[adigal]

33. I would certainly not look through a window at the wealthy

dining, and not go in and take their food for my starving children. This is not France, pre-Revolution. If kids are starving, all the gated communities in Orange County, Calif would not keep out middle class parents. There will be serious issues if it gets this bad in this country - we never will accept our kids going hungry while the wealthy dine on golden plates, drinking fine wines.

And I don't think this is going to happen, anyway.

[leftofthedial]

40. to a degree

it is already happening.

but they do take occasional breaks from their sumptuous repast to jet to DC to ask for more taxpayer money from their congressional pets.

[MadinMo]

37. Kicking --- still hoping to hear about others' states of readiness.

[readmoreoften]

41. I do know the best dumpsters. Went the other day and got milk products.

Had to throw some away though because it was so close to rotten.

[jmg257]

42. Locked and loaded, Sir! nt

[RagAss]

43. My latest book: "My Neighbor is Cooking His Dog on the Fucking Grill !"

[leftofthedial]

64. where can I get that?

[RagAss]

68. All I got is a title so far....LOL

[leftofthedial]

70. that could be THE book of the end of the bush era

[RagAss]

82. Yes...so true.

[hunter]

78. I'm cooking my fucking neighbor on the grill for my dog.

Him shooting those hobos who came to his house begging for food was bad enough, but displaying their heads on a pike was well over the top. That, and those damned Bush-Cheney bumper stickers on his rusty old Humvee. Prying the gun from his cold dead hands was quite easy, actually.

:hide:

[RagAss]

81. LOL !

[sarcasmo]

45. Dumping the house and moving into the in-laws basement in 2009

USA, USA, USA.

[Hydra]

46. I know how to do it, for the most part

I don't know if I'll bother. I'm almost a pure darwinist- if I've got what it takes to survive, I'll figure it out. If I don't, it's better if I don't breed.

That would be one funny side effect- if things turn into open warfare, I'll be shedding my decision not to have kids.

[depakid]

47. You often sound like you're wishing hard for something like this...

Fortunately, you're going to be disappointed this time around.

[leftofthedial]

65. wishing hard

are you nuts?

[hangman86]

49. Is this gonna be like Mad Max?

Except without an anti-semetic douchebag as our leader.

[Edweird]

52. Eh, I can survive anything. I'm a generally law-abiding 'good guy', but

I wasn't always a 'good guy'. I'll be ok.

Nonetheless, this is more of 'the end of the world' nonsense that appears here seemingly daily.
How's that war with Iran going?

[IDemo]

56. If things get that bad, there had better be an insulin line next to the soup line

or I'm toast, along with many others...

[slackmaster]

57. I have about 3-4 weeks worth of emergency supplies, enough rifles and ammo for everyone on my street

Generator. I may need a generator.

[bvar22]

58. We pray a hard crash doesn't happen.

We don't consider ourselves "survivalists". The people who fondle guns and daydream about shooting hungry people scare us. There are some of those up in these hills. We avoid them.
We sincerely pray that a crash doesn't happen. It would make things harder on everybody, ourselves included.

A few years ago we made a choice to pursue a lifestyle that was focused on sustainability and independence.

We started getting worried after selection 2000. When Bush* was installed by the Supreme Court we were outraged. When the Democratic Party posed NO OPPOSITION to the little Reagan on steroids, and in fact helped him, we were really worried.
Property values were increasing at incredible (artificial) rates with little or no value added to the property itself. Most people jumped for joy celebrating the Free Money. It scared us. When something is suddenly/magically worth twice as much without a lot of hard work, we want to know why.

The final straw was campaign/election 2004. We were forced to face the REALITY that neither political party represented us. We were sure something very bad was coming, and started making plans. Over the next two years we sold everything, cashed out most of out 401K, bought Bubble Proof property in a very rural unspoiled/undeveloped area in the South with an abundant clean water supply surrounded by National Forest (plenty of wildlife, long growing season, low energy demands, very low property taxes).

In 2006, we quit our jobs, left the Big City (Minneapolis), and moved to our new place.
The performance of the Democratic Majority in Congress since 2006 only reassured us that we made the right decision.
We ARE registered to vote, and support the Democratic Party 100%, but don't hold much hope that anything will really change. Our focus has become local Humanitarian/Community Issues, and methods of denying support for Corporate America.

We have planted a large vegetable, herb, and fruit garden, have two healthy HoneyBee colonies (expand to 4 colonies next Spring), and keep a dozen chickens. More fruit trees and a large BlueBerry Patch are being added this year. We are freezing and canning this year for consumption over the Winter. Next year we will be solar drying BlueBerries, Figs, and Lavender for marketing.

We will no longer pay for the obscenity this country has become.
We have reduced our taxable income to near poverty levels.
We no longer use "credit", don't have a mortgage, build everything ourselves, buy "used, 2nd hand, or salvage" directly from previous owners, and Barter, Trade, or pay CASH to avoid all taxes whenever possible.
As much as possible, we have stopped consuming in the Corporate America sense of the word.

After 2 years, we are still on the Corporate hook for electricity, Sat TV, some gasoline, and about 1/2 of our food, but have plans to eliminate or minimize those. Internet access is by cheap Dial Up.

We realize we are very fortunate to be in a situation to do this. We have no dependent children, and are in good health. We miss the advantages of Urban Consumption, but have little desire to return.
We pray that an Obama administration and a Democratic Congress can turn things around for America, but see no signs that this will happen.



Spring Promise 2008

[MadinMo]

73. This is beautiful bvar!

Congratulations on your transition to the basics. We are nowhere near your standing, but we are getting there. At least we have our land and home almost paid for. We still have 2 kids at home and their future worries me a lot.

Many thanks for sharing this with us.

[TK421]

61. You left out the radioactive flesh-eating zombies...geez

Why does everyone ignore the radioactive flesh-eating zombies?

GIVE IT UP FOR THE RADIOACTIVE FLESH-EATING ZOMBIES, EVERYONE!!!!#$@ SHOW THEM SOME LOVE!!@

[leftofthedial]

66. I just didn't want to freak everyone out

[Soylent Brice]

71. eh.

no one denies that things will get substantially more difficult as the full impact of what's happening sinks in, but i am not going to run screaming.

i was homeless for 4 months about a decade ago. and i don't mean, sleeping on friends couches homeless. i mean, breaking into empty buildings, or someone's home, finding a place to hide so i can sleep, and scouring parking lots for change so i could buy a slim jim homeless.

i know what its like, and i know how much it sucks.

how did i get through that rough time? simple, someone eventually helped me and gave me an opportunity to get back on my feet. eventually people will realize that if it gets as bad as it appears it will be, the populace will pull together to help each other out. it may take a while, and it may take until it gets to an epidemic state of homelessness, but people will help each other.

that's the trick to pulling through tough times like this. just fucking help each other. the last eight years has encouraged people to become more selfish than i have ever seen in my short years. once we shed this stigma of "i got mine so fuck you" we'll all see a significant change. we pulled together as a country to elect the first black president, immediately following eight years of fundie hell and stupidity. it's not a coincidence folks. it's because we worked together. what will it take to get people to realize it's that simple?

stop panicking, and ACT in order to prevent it from getting as bad as it could be. stop using Bushista fear tactics in order to pass your talking points off as prophetic musings.

get involved with a community organization, volunteer at a homeless shelter. try getting a neighborhood program together and think of ways the neighborhood can pull together in case something does escalate. CALL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS AND DEMAND proactive legislation to provide more assistance and to put more programs in place for the those who have lost their jobs/homes and are suffering now, and those projected to in the near future.

NO MORE FEAR. ONLY ACTION.

[jmondine]

74. You should write greeting cards

[Fireweed247]

79. There are things we can do to help ourselves and each other

If people are forced to stay home, they just might learn to cook for themselves and decide they would rather cook as a lifestyle and save so much money they can work less hours.

Perhaps people will stop buying so much stuff, wasting the world's resources supporting child labor and environmental degradation. We can learn to reuse, buy stuff on Ebay and support other Americans instead of walmart, shop at thrift stores, give more unneeded stuff away to others who can use it.

Maybe we will start looking to help our neighbors instead of worrying about them stealing our blankets, we can give them one instead..preemptively...

And maybe...and this is really reaching...we will stop these bastards from looting the nation and actually recover some of the money they stole when we hold them accountable.

[LanternWaste]

80. I hear there's a few openings on the Rapture Ready board...

Self-validating prognostications and presumptions based on incomplete information and relevant knowledge resulting in Dystopian fantasies which have been penned (or crayoned?) into so many hack-authored, bad science fiction novella collections.

The elections happened, the Bush cabal didn't call for martial law, there's no civil war, Obama will be taking office in January, and your space aliens have so far failed to appear-- so this is what you guys have left... just a tired re-hash of the Depression? What do we call it this time? Depression 3.1? the Neo-Depression? Or some other clever bit of advertising to better solidify in your minds What The Future Holds?

As grandad (a survivor of Depression-- the *real* one) said, "The more sure a person is about tomorrow, the less he probably knows about today." Works for talk-radio, and it seems to work for End-of-Timers, too.

I hear there's a few openings on the Rapture Ready board... and those guy appear to share you sentiments.

Edited: clarity

[balantz]

83. There's plenty of FEMA prisons for the survivors of the mayhem to come n/t