I am so fucking DONE

[FirstLight]

At the very least, my Obama Biden stickers are coming OFF the car this week.

and if I had the resources, I would be gone from this country...
...or at least run away to my ranch in the hills and stop paying taxes and voting...fuck em...if they want my livelihood, they can come after me to get it.
...Pull my kids out of school and go live off the land, set up my own off-the-grid home and just do what I WANT.

I am tired of trying to find a job and make life work by THEIR rules, tired of having my earned income credit TAKEN to pay for student loans on and education that is null & void
tired of hoping for things to get better when they really are not going to anytime soon
tired of trying to make my children good little citizens, when they should be learning more about ecology and surviving the next decades of Earth changes
tired of having to tell the welfare office details about my life, every nickel and dime and bank statement watched for fraud when the banks and politicians are stealing openly
tired of the way things keep getting worse, even when you think they can't

I'm not giving up, i am taking my life back.

but first i'm going to go have a good :cry:

[Tansy_Gold]

1. I'm right there with you, FirstLight

I'll bring the kleenex

[saracat]

51. Hey Tansy! Lets get together soon.I always say that but we never do.

PM me and let me know. I never though anything could be worse than 200o.Never say never I guess! LOL! Sniff.Pass the tissues.

[TicketyBoo]

90. Better make it Puffs

with Lotion. Softer for when you're in for a long cry.

[Tansy_Gold]

109. Better yet --

Washable reusable cotton handkerchiefs made by recycling old sheets, tee-shirts, whatever.



TG

[dgibby]

114. And don't forget cold tea bags for the swollen eyes.

Very soothing, and works like a charm.

[Tansy_Gold]

116. And tea is less expensive, gentler to the environment,

and BETTER FOR YOU than prepared beverages sold by corporations.



TG

[TicketyBoo]

136. Puffs are softer.

And it's a toss-up as to which are environmentally "greener," since you don't have to launder tissues.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

119. Sham Wow's!

[asdjrocky]

2. I hear ya.

I'm pretty much off the grid as much as I can be in the city. I'm not voting. I've got my big garden, I work for myself and I am done with the political process until they do something to bring me back.

I volunteer locally and do what I can for my neighbors, but I too am done.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. You are not alone.....

:cry: :hug: x(

[SammyWinstonJack]

18. ...at all. Done here as well.

x(

[peace frog]

62. ...still in 'dazed and confused' mode

but yes, I am done. Just not sure what my next step will, or should, be. I'm lucky to have a job, but am tethered to it as well. Not free to pick up and leave, and won't be for several years. Meanwhile, everything is falling down around my ears.

What to do, what to do? :scared:

[The Doctor.]

101. I'm thinking Switzerland.

Only problem is, if all of the people that are aware and fed-up leave, it's over for everyone else.

[peace frog]

118. It's over for everyone else, regardless

At this point, everyone must make decisions based on what they project will adversely affect themselves and their loved ones in the near future.

[stevenleser]

134. Switzerland = VERY restrictive immigration policy.

They don't let anyone immigrate who doesnt have a BIG bank account. I'm heading there on first leg of business/vaca trip tonight as a matter of fact.

[Javaman]

4. My stickers are coming off too. :(

but I will still keep my Democratic Underground.com sticker on! :)

[WheelWalker]

5. You live at Lake Tahoe and visit the welfare office?

[FirstLight]

12. why do you ask?

nt

[WheelWalker]

23. Reality check

[Leopolds Ghost]

180. For the rest of us, you mean. Right?

Or for you? :shrug:

[WheelWalker]

186. My reality is the only one I have capacity to question. All others I must either accept or reject.

Our mind affects how we relate to the external world. We cannot experience that which we cannot imagine.

Truth is a mental product grounded in what we are able ourselves to imagine about subjectively observed facts.

Our truths, layered upon fact, present each of us with a reality as we recognize it.

Thus, with our thoughts we create the world.

As a general rule, I reject the reality of others and substitute my own.

[sam sarrha]

198. well put.. i like the Buddhist Perspective, retrain the mind not separate Subject from Object

Oh!..mmmm.? :grouphug:

[WheelWalker]

205. Blessings

[bkozumplik]

14. yes, theres plenty of poor locals in tahoe.

The tourist industry needs workers. I know a woman with a child who lives in a tiny uninsulated apartment above someones garage and who rides her bike around even in the winter (no car) with her young kid on the back of it.
In Tahoe.

Happens. I'd rather be poor someplace warm. I think she should move.

[FirstLight]

20. It's not called "Poverty with a View" for nuthin!

One of my good friends was all stoked to get a job after 1 1/2 yrs of unemployment...she has 2 kids and a husband who is a loser...and she is working at the ski resort now for $8 an hour...which is just highway robbery on the part of these fucking corporations... (heavenly/vail resorts...ya)

I moved up here in 92 because I needed the safety of being in a small town and not the big city ...small town poverty is different and in my mind a lot less dangerous. (I came from Oakland too)

Problem is, you get stuck here. Can't make enough to MOVE, and getting a job in another area and moving is not that easy with kids either.

So I freelance and make my way with odd jobs, most of us here in rural mountain towns have at least 3 or 4 different 'angles' or 'professions' to get by. I've known people who work at the grocery chain (which is supposed to be one of the better jobs) and still have to wait tables or something to make ends meet.

I look at it as "survival training" ;)

[glowing]

79. Same as life in VT where I was from. Everyone had an extra odd job involving the land.

AND the resorts pd min. wage type of pay... when a ticket/ day is too much for anyone who live in the area to actually enjoy. Working for the rich.

[sam sarrha]

201. i did that there.. 8' 1956 Rainbow Trailer, buried under 7' of snow. tell her to get bubble plastic

stick it to the walls, i used layers of bubble plastic and cardboard.. attached with small dots of 'Tough as Nails' it is in caulking tubes. only takes a dime size spot every 3 feet ..i put layers of the blue foam board on the top, tied down, tarp over, and bottom glued, screwed on bottom.. inside cabinets, press fit on walls, bubble plastic on windows..

i only had to use a 1500 watt electric heater set on mrdium... but had a tunnel to get to the drive way.. not tooo bad

[SammyWinstonJack]

19. What, you think everyone living in Lake Tahoe is well to do? How very elitist of you.

:eyes:

[Hell Hath No Fury]

33. Don't know much about Tahoe, do you?

My Mom has lived there for 17+ years. Wages for locals are pretty much shit. Good paying jobs are scarce. The economy is dependent on tourism and the casinos, both which have all fallen off because of the Angora fire/low snowfall and the rise of Indian gaming throughout CA.

I was just there last weekend and the town is all but dying -- plenty of locals on food stamps and welfare.

[WheelWalker]

36. Absolutely nothing, it would appear. I don't get out much.

[Johnny ramone]

190. "As a general rule, I reject the reality of others and substitute my own."

Well then it explains a lot of things.You know noting about Lake Tahoe but in your reality the streets are paved with gold.:eyes:

[JuniperLea]

175. Who do you think waits on all the rich folk?

Wherever you have upper crusties, you will have poor people paid pennies to take care of their every need. You didn't think the rich folk do their own yard work, do their own hair & nails? They need food, restaurants with bus boys and wait staff... dishwashers, maids, sales clerks... people to keep their Hummer's and Mercedes and BMW's running, washed and gassed... people to raise their kids, feed their families... clean their hotels and houses.

There's your reality check.

[unapatriciated]

188. not everyone who lives in Tahoe is wealthy.

There is a lot of poor and working class in ski resorts.
Who do you think works in the restaurants, hotels and grocery stores, certainly not those that are there on vacation.
I lived in Mammoth Lakes for ten years and the year round residents were mostly poor and working class.
now who needs a reality check.

[Delphinus]

6. {{{hugs}}}

I hear every word you are saying, FirstLight. :hug:

I will :cry: with you.

[dysfunctional press]

7. i'm going to settle in and hunker down....and wait for the revolution...

that's never going to come.

[bkozumplik]

16. I'd be content with a breakup of the republic

revolution not necessary

[umyeah]

171. California first!

[femrap]

56. Oh yes it will.....

maybe not the way you think, but it's coming. End of 2011....big changes. But it can be pretty nasty before that. Be prepared...food, batteries, your basic EQ stuff. Maybe learn basic 'handyperson' skills.

But this crap with TPTB will end. They lose.

[Quantess]

71. "...not the way you think..."

End of 2011? The-End-of-The-Mayan-Calendar-Hype is December 2012.
Or is it about something else?

[femrap]

166. I've been reading that the 12/21/12

date is wrong and that the true date is 10/28/11. But that calculation could be wrong as well.

And it's not really an end as much as it is a new beginning. At least that is how I understand it from the Elders.

I'm looking forward to the 'Change.'

[dysfunctional press]

182. whatever date it actually is- it's the equivilent of our december 31st, any year....

our calenders are usually 1 year in length(although there are variations)- the mayan calender in question is more like 5126 years in length- and it's cycle ends in december 2012(or october 2011, if that's what you've read). but it's no more significant in real terms, than when we turn over the month of december on a calender, then pitch it and throw it in the trash.
when the new mayan long-count calenders come out (sometime next year, i'd presume), i want to get one with kittens.

[femrap]

185. Well....I guess we'll see

when next year rolls around.

You don't have much of a spiritual being, do you?

You might want to check out halfpasthuman.com which is a tad more scientific in its predictions of things to come.

Oh and btw, 2010 is going to be one huge mess. Worse than 1932/1933.

We'll see soon enough.

No sense discussing it further.

[dysfunctional press]

187. "You don't have much of a spiritual being, do you? "

not. at. all.

seeing as it's all hogwash, on a par with astrology.

i don't believe in an immortal soul, or any kind of 'cosmic consciousness' that ties us all together, or a 'life force' that permeates the universe, or anything else along that realm of thinking(or not).

we're born...we live...we die.

enjoy the ride- because it's the only one you get.

[femrap]

195. Ever been to the Library

of Congress in DC?

Maybe you're on your first trip...bummer. Means you gotta lot to learn.

I've had many a ride.

Or maybe you're simply empty.

I'm gonna put you on Ignore....don't need emptiness, OK? Or boredom. good luck

[dysfunctional press]

206. "I've had many a ride."

i never asked about your sex life.

[dysfunctional press]

76. what about guns?

btw- what is basic "EQ" stuff...?

[femrap]

167. EQ

earthquake. Never thought I would ever have one....but people and circumstances change.

[CoffeeCat]

61. "Wait to live...wait to die...

...wait for an absolution that would never come."

Someone on the Titanic said that.

[TorchTheWitch]

92. Someone in the 1997 film Titanic said that

It was a line from the film delivered by the character Rose as an old woman (actress - Gloria Stuart).

[CoffeeCat]

170. Oh, don't get me started...

I saw the movie 17 times in the theater.

It's been a while since Titanic mania, but if I'm not mistaken--wasn't that one of the
lines that a real passenger did, in fact, say? There was a lot of dialogue that was
plucked directly from actual passengers and crew.

[endless october]

8. stick with us.

we'll make it better together.

even if it takes decades. river rocks don't become smooth overnight. it takes many years.

[blitzburgh55]

9. What we have is still better

than the right wingers. Letting them have the reins again would be much more devastating.

[blitzburgh55]

21. Read the posts on this board

and tell me how anyone in their right mind wants to allow these people back in power? Dems have to stick together and keep republicans out!

http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_%28A_to_Z%29/Stocks_H/forumview?bn=8267&vmode=1

[BP2]

82. We have been, and it still hasn't made a fucking difference. There's a point at which each

Progressive has to determine for his or herself that he's simply not the man he said he was,
or at least, who we wanted to believe he was.

Why reward incompetence with more hapless loyalty?

[caseymoz]

115. You could always hit Democrats with some lost elections.

The loss in Massachusetts has shaken them.

There's going to have to be constitutional changes before this country really improves.

That, of course, is going to take a crisis.

[TicketyBoo]

138. I'm confused.

Or is it you who is confused?

Isn't this Democratic Underground?

You could always hit Democrats with some lost elections.

The loss in Massachusetts has shaken them.

What on earth are you talking about? "Them," not "us"?

[Webster Green]

153. They are still in control. That's the problem. I'm done too!

Fuck this shit-hole country! It's a hoax. I'm leaving. :thumbsdown:

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[here_is_to_hope]

11. Smile, you ain't in Haiti...

Really.
I am in the same spot as you (except for the student loan thing) and when the wife came home yesterday in tears, whispering that her last day of employment is the 31st...well, I smiled and said...well, can't repeat that here but let me say, it will get better.
I have been laid off since August, three weeks after buying this house.
I live in a county with 14% unemployment.

Back off from the day to day politics, they suck, we know it.

But do work to change and improve what you can.
Today I am cleaning out the chicken coop, getting the front garden ready and otherwise keeping busy.
It's the best thing you can do really.

I have 60 cents in my front pocket, I have had it there since last Friday.
Every day I tell myself I will not spend that 60 cents.
Amazing what three coins can mean.
To me, it means I ain't broke.
Trivial, I know but to me, it means I will never give up.
This side of the topsoil is much better.

[tiny elvis]

77. excellent nt

[tblue]

13. First...

:hug: I know how you feel sweetie.

You are so not alone. We had such high hopes and it is devastating the way things are turning out -- in one freaking year!!! I don't expect all this crap to be fixed already, but I do expect clear, committed, unapologetic leadership to demonstrate that it's got its arms around it. I didn't vote for tweaks. At least I didn't think I did.

I can't watch the news or even The Daily Show. It's not funny anymore. And I get no solace anywhere. Man, I hate this.

Are you in the Bay Area, by any chance?

[TicketyBoo]

91. Are you sure it's as bad as we think it is?

I mean, I know if you're unemployed, it's hard to imagine it being worse.

But do we really know what's been going on behind the scenes? Maybe there is still reason to hope.

I'm still hoping that things will turn around soon.

[galileoreloaded]

15. I told my mother that the next revolution would be one of nonparticipation,

and we are here.

[puebloknot]

86. Nonparticipation: This may be the strongest weapon we will ever have! nt

[conscious evolution]

202. Quit feeding the beast.

Good idea.

[Desertrose]

17. My stickers came off last spring.....

I totally hear ya....live with my grown kids and the son just got laid off.Thank goodness we can stick together and hopefully weather things out...the future?? Not the one I had envisioned for so long....but I ain't givin' up.

:hug::grouphug:

We need to all quit playing by their ridiculous rules!!!

[PSzymeczek]

66. Never put stickers on

and my "Bring Them Home" decal in the rear window is so faded it's illegible. Yet my inlaws' picture of Obama that my FIL inscribed "Anti-Christ baby-killer" is as legible as the day a year ago that they put it on the fridge.

[David Zephyr]

22. K&R.

You are not alone, FirstLlight. Take comfort in that. People do not like being toyed with and lied to.

There's righteous anger in America right now and there's every reason for it.

I read your post and was moved by the honesty in your words. AndI like what you said, "I am taking my life back". We are all pretty much on our own now in so many ways and, we have been betrayed by those who made promises they clearly never intended to keep. Embracing the truth is healthy for us all.

Keep posting. :hug:

[FirstLight]

25. Thanks I needed that

I know I can be idealistic and tend to rant about stuff I may not know all the details of, yada yada yada

But I guess one thing I know is MY life and MY feelings and I am not afraid to express them!

:rant:

sometimes honesty ain't pretty, but it is still the better path to take...for our lives, and our relations to others. So I plan to keep posting, and learning and such...thanks ;) :hug: Du has been a haven for me the past couple years and i have never been more aware of what goes on in my country or world. Sometimes to my own detriment! lol But it is good to have opinions and knowledge and learn how things work (or how corrupt they are) otherwise you are living in lala land...and cannot make the CHOICE to participate or not. Choosing NOT to is my best way of getting my point across, and just surviving. I have my own family to worry about and nobody "on high" is gonna save me..

[OhioChick]

24. K&R n/t

[Greyhound]

26. K&R. Yes.

[earth mom]

27. I've been feeling the same way for a long long long time.

:cry:

:grouphug:

[uponit7771]

28. Hang in there, mama said there would be days like this

[amborin]

29. K&R agree, and: Howard Zinn on Obama's first year:

snip
...... I wasn't terribly disappointed because I didn't expect that much. I expected him to be a traditional Democratic president. On foreign policy, that's hardly any different from a Republican--as nationalist, expansionist, imperial and warlike. So in that sense, there's no expectation and no disappointment. On domestic policy, traditionally Democratic presidents are more reformist, closer to the labor movement, more willing to pass legislation on behalf of ordinary people--and that's been true of Obama. But Democratic reforms have also been limited, cautious. Obama's no exception. On healthcare, for example, he starts out with a compromise, and when you start out with a compromise, you end with a compromise of a compromise, which is where we are now.

I thought that in the area of constitutional rights he would be better than he has been. That's the greatest disappointment, because Obama went to Harvard Law School and is presumably dedicated to constitutional rights. But he becomes president, and he's not making any significant step away from Bush policies. Sure, he keeps talking about closing Guantánamo, but he still treats the prisoners there as "suspected terrorists." They have not been tried and have not been found guilty. So when Obama proposes taking people out of Guantánamo and putting them into other prisons, he's not advancing the cause of constitutional rights very far. And then he's gone into court arguing for preventive detention, and he's continued the policy of sending suspects to countries where they very well may be tortured.

I think people are dazzled by Obama's rhetoric, and that people ought to begin to understand that Obama is going to be a mediocre president--which means, in our time, a dangerous president--unless there is some national movement to push him in a better direction.


http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/21-7

[FriendlyReminder]

48. This is really depressing me now. Perhaps I had too high of expectations

for Obama. I would understand if the case were that the republicans still had the house or senate or the numbers were closer but we can't seem to move our progressive agenda forward with an overwhelming majority. I am totally pissed and disillusioned right now.

[TicketyBoo]

141. I think maybe

a lot of people had expectations that were too high.

Our government isn't a little car that can turn on a dime. It's more like a locomotive, chugging along, and it's hard to stop the momentum and get it turned around the other way.

The S-L-O-W is especially hard for people who are used to getting things done, lickety-split, in their own lives.

Slow and steady really does win the race. Remember how deliberate and sly Obama was during the campaign? "No drama Obama"?

I suspect we don't know all he's been doing behind the scenes.

[FriendlyReminder]

157. Thanks Tickety....I guess what I was getting at was that I understand the

whole "can't turn on a dime" thing but sheesh, that's usually the way it goes with a slimmer majority or a split Congress. I was hoping the overwhelming majority we have would manifest more change a little quicker.

I would love to see some of the progress that is going on behind the scenes. Until then.....press on.....

[bvar22]

30. We moved to The Woods and planted a BIG garden in 2006.

We keep chickens and HoneyBees too.
Low "taxable" income.
No credit.
No Mortgage.
LOW Property taxes.
On property source of clean water.
Long Growing Season.
Clean environment.
Surrounded by National Forest.



So far, so good.

Caution:
It will cost twice as much,
Take 3 times as long to get up and running,
And require 5 times more WORK
than you are thinking.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=268x2601

[FirstLight]

32. You rock!

My parents on 40 acres in the wine country (bought when i was 7, used to spend weekends up there), with an artesian well and plenty of sunshine and room for permaculture...in fact i have figured out how to turn it into "something" (farm/retreat cntr) for long time now. But they say I can't move up there because they are very old fashioned and a woman ALONE just doesn't DO things like that...and i'd have to drive an 8 mile dirt road every morning to get to town and get the kids to school, and there are rattlesnakes...etc...

I guess i will need my tribe to move up there with me...build a few yurts and start a ice little commune of about 3 families or so...

*sigh*
it is my lifelong dream and I know it is a whole 'nother LIFETIME of work...but if I cant go till I am pushing 50, so be it!

[truedelphi]

38. This household is pulling for you.

Good luck.

If you are living in a major metro area, and you move to the rural environs, you will find out that your only regret is that you didn't do it YEARS sooner.

I like living somewhere that should I collapse on the street, my body won't be left there till street cleaning day!

[femrap]

58. Do your parents live up there now?

Rattle snakes don't bother you if you don't bother them....they're much nicer than dudes who work on Wall Street.

I grew up when all the roads were dirt...no biggie.

Your parents need to join the new century....or at least the 1970's. Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug....they know them???

I'd give anything to have land in wine country....even if there were no dirt road. You have it better than you think. Talk to your parents...seriously.

I have a very good friend in Healdsburg...she'll get them to see the light. She was a single parent before it became mainstream.

[FirstLight]

72. Lol, my folks are so old-school...depression-era folks

My dad is 78, mom is 74...He sits in front of Faux all day and is very limited in his views (and for so many years growing up he was a Dem, too.) Mom is more liberal. But I think it is a condition of their generation to be ruled by fear and anxiety.
No, they don't live there, it's never been more than a wekend thing when was a kid. Now the property is all but abandoned...with a 3 bd house too..nobody has even BEEN up there for a few years...they check on it every five years or so, just to make sure the road hasn;t washed out or the house fallen apart or the property hasn;t been taken over by the pot growers. (hehe)

But the water supply is not reliable and a MODERN well needs to be surveyed and dug... the road really does need some real grading with a dozer and maybe a layer of good gravel (or that new eco-asphalt that filters the water through to avoid erosion) to keep it stable...and I would love to retrofit the house for solar, etc...

*sigh* ...I swear, it really sux knowing it is there and I can't access it. I have been telling my whole family that I am going to LIVE there and FARM one day since I was a teen... they all think I am nuts. They Like infrastructure. wierdos.

Healdsbrg, eh? do you know Armstrong Redwoods outside of Guerneville? ya, nice area...remote and good growing season and climate...

[femrap]

168. My mother is 82 and she was a small child

during the Depression. Of course, she grew up on a farm so she never went hungry.

If the world gets as bad as some are saying, your family may come to see the 'light' and think farming is a great idea....that is if they like to eat!

If the grid goes down, that farm house of yours would be ideal.

And if Recreation Pot is passed in CA, your land can provide a good cash crop.

Do your folks live in S. CA?

[TicketyBoo]

94. Isn't there a school bus?

Most rural areas around here have buses to get the kids to school.

[TxRider]

122. If it is your lifelong dream

Go do it, now.

Got anything better to do?

You can walk an 8 mile road in an hour.

Don't put off lifelong dreams. You only go around once.


I'm setting up for off grid living on a little acreage here in central Texas in a couple more years.

No kids to take care of for me though, just a couple of old dogs.

Yurts rock, but I'll take a small house every time.

[conscious evolution]

203. Move there anyway

Its easier to get forgiven than to get permission sometimes.

[Howler]

31. Been done for a while now.

Took down my Obama paraphernalia about about 4 weeks ago. ;(

Hang in there you are not alone.

[slackmaster]

34. There's no crying in politics

[treestar]

35. Do you really think it will be better in some other country?

Are you sure they will take you?

We all have it tough sometimes.

Many have it worse.

[krabigirl]

41. answer: yes.

[TicketyBoo]

145. How about

Haiti?

One way out. Volunteer.

[Andronex]

164. "Haiti?"

Haiti is also part of the American Empire, already 16,000 troops there to ensure the established order remains.

[TicketyBoo]

173. Well,

we don't own it (but we may before this is all said and done).

Looks like it would be hopping from the frying pan into the fire, anyway. Two seasons: earthquake and hurricane. And full-time poverty.

Don't ever say that things can't get worse, because that's when they inevitably do.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7540373

[blueworld]

37. I am so with you. n/t

[UrbScotty]

39. Surrender on the left = victory for the 'right'

[tiny elvis]

81. deliberate nonparticipation is not surrender

the strategies for success are not limited to working in a system that has taken all it can from you and abandoned you
what we are looking forward to this year is the result of victory for the 'left'
i think that firstlight is talking about being abandoned by the system she paid into for protection

[TicketyBoo]

97. The result is

pretty much the same, though.

Paltry as my one voice and my one vote are, I will continue to exercise both.

[BP2]

84. 22% of Massachusett LIBERALS voted for Brown-stain. Either it was a protest vote or the voters

were corrupted and beguiled by a Cosmo centerfold.

I, for one, hope it was the first answer.

Surrender on the left ≠ reward the incompetency of Left leaders

or does it?!

I, for one, don't like to reward incompetency, over and over and over and over again.

[TicketyBoo]

96. That's right.

[Johnny ramone]

189. The left have been used and dumped.

If Obama is shiting on his base then nobody is forced to enjoy it.

[TicketyBoo]

192. I don't feel

"used and dumped."

I think things are progressing about as well as can be expected — better in some instances, not so great in others. Progress is always slow, and we have to climb out of the hole the previous guy threw us into.

[Johnny ramone]

193. Progress is always slow...

When the conservatives are calling the shots and Obama is kissing their buts.You should take off you pink glasses.

[TicketyBoo]

196. I'm seeing just fine.

The Republicans aren't calling the shots. We have to face the fact that not everyone as progressive as we are.

Obama campaigned on the promise of bipartisanship. He's trying that, fulfilling that campaign promise, but I expect him to take off the gloves soon, since the Republicans aren't cooperating in the slightest.

[kenfrequed]

123. What does constant marginalization of the left equal?

I'm just curious. I do sort of agree with you about not backing down, but we really can't afford to back policies that are diametrically opposite our stances on the issues. I suppose it doesn't help with all the 'pony' talk that goes on and the stupefying ignorant mainstream media spin.

[gizmonic]

40. Me too, FirstLight. Me too.

I'm not a regular poster here @ DU, unlike my my husband Deep13. It's taken me at least 6 years to reach 1000 posts. But your thread drew me in.

1995 -- I became a US citizen after living here for some 20 years. I was full of optimism and excited that I could vote and make a difference.

In 1996 I voted in my first Presidential election. I was thrilled to vote for Bill Clinton.

By 2000, my interest in politics began to widen. By then, Deep13 and I were married and we decided to get involved in our local D party. After Kerry's loss in '04 and subsequent local elections the D's lost, we were just worn out. So we curtailed our political involvement, volunteering, etc. and concentrated on supporting candidates only. We had a victory in '06 when Sherrod Brown won.

I'll be honest: Looking back, I'm sorry I wasted any time, money and energy on the D's. I got absolutely nothing in return. This country isn't any better because I tried to make a difference. I would have had better results if I burned the money. Or better yet, spent it on renovating my house. At least I'd have something I was happy about.

My family's manufacturing business is struggling and there's no bailout for us. January of 2009 we laid off a number of our employees; a couple of them had been with us almost 20+ years. We are slowly paying off our loans to the bank -- and they had the fucking nerve to tighten the screws on us in December 2008. After I wrote them a letter and essentially told them that our company is meeting its financial obligation to the bank and that their financial fuck-ups were not our problem, they've since left us alone.

Our company will hopefully ride this out. We are probably one of the lucky ones. There's some that have just given up.

I'm 41 years old and I have no more fight left in me. I just don't give a fuck anymore.

FirstLight, I wish you the best.

As the wise philosopher Red Green once said, "Remember, I'm pulling for you. We're all in this together."

:hug: :hug: :hug:

[TicketyBoo]

98. 41 is pretty early to give up.

I'm 58, and I'm not giving up.

Hope your business makes it through this okay. If you've hung in there this long, it's a good sign.

[Fire Walk With Me]

42. "I'm not giving up, i am taking my life back."

"And so it begins." -Ambassador Kosh, "Babylon 5"

[rucky]

43. Any room at the ranch?

[FirstLight]

45. hell yeah!

many hands make for easier work ;)

believe me, as soo as i get the green light to jump - I will be inviting my DU family to join me on the Commune...

Everyone has something to contribute, skills & such... we'll definately need to dig in and get dirty!

I tell ya, oday, that glimmer of hope for the refuge and the building something REAL, like a garden and a good well and road...that has been the only thing that has given me joy today...

I sent the Gardening link upthread to my dad actually, and told him i was READY to make it happen.
too bad he is a Fox watching freak, he probably thinks all i wanna do is plant a pot farm :smoke: hehe...which could be REALLY profitable anyway, sheesh!

[change_notfinetuning]

113. Medical marijuana farm sounds like a good business to get into. Your

conservative dad, who already owns the land, can't be against making a buck, can he?

[fl00ridaG33k]

44. see ya in 2012

[Bonobo]

46. I am already gone.

America left me before I left them.

[TicketyBoo]

99. So…

where did you go?

[Bonobo]

104. Japan. nt

[Libertas1776]

47. Behold Obama...

the "Change"ling. :cry:

[GreenPartyVoter]

49. I will be crying along with you. So mad, sad, and frustrated right now! *passing tissues*

[saracat]

50. I am crying too. Politics over people has triumphed.

[FirstLight]

52. ...the only thing i have - is gratitude

for a warm home, food in the pantry and healthy kids and myself...

and all of that can change on a dime.... :scared:

So I think it IS time for Plan B ...be prepared, right?



a fallout shelter...? Nooooo


more like THIS!


and this


and this



yep...I'm there, man

[KILL THE WISE ONE]

67. good luck on new carer as a hippie chic.

it's not like the rest of us will fair a whole lot better as cooperate slaves.

in fact some day soon .... we could be wishing we were there too

[greenbird]

207. Good luck with picture number 3.

I did that in 1971. It's not everything you think it will be.

[Dinger]

53. My Stickers are Off, And I Have Unsubscribed To Several E-mail Newsletters

That's just the way it is.

[troubledamerican]

54. Don't leave yet, President Palin is coming...

and Operation Falcon and the plane crashing into the Capitol Dome.

[KILL THE WISE ONE]

65. i would laugh but ..... Palin may be the only one we can actually beat

[totodeinhere]

128. I already heard a wingnut salivating over a Brown/Palin ticket. n/t

[tallahasseedem]

142. Don't be so sure...

We can't ever take things for granted. No one thought that Reagan could get elected and he did. Never surrender.

[Nihil]

158. Ha! Damn right!

> No one thought that Reagan could get elected and he did.

No-one (outside America at least) thought Bush would be re-elected but ...

:rofl:

[sam sarrha]

197. it'll be Brown and some other ass hat... Brown is a Reagan clone, looks the part, that' all it takes

[femrap]

55. Nothing like a good

:cry: to clear the mind, heart and soul. Sounds like you are on the right track...you are facing the Truth and want to make plans to deal with that Truth.

I, too, just want to find a place in the country and build a small home of maybe 800 sq. ft. and make it as Green as possible....off the grid entirely would be SUPER!

We will be our heroines.

We need to form Social Cooperatives. I wish I were in Tahoe....alas, Ohio.

My thoughts and strengths are with you!

:hug: :yourock:

[NoPasaran]

57. You're tearing your bumpersticker off?

Holy fuck, this is serious.

[donheld]

59. Me too

[RedCloud]

60. Love it or leave it? We left it motherfuckers!

I remember those reverse chants.

You know I was mentioning to the family that if the corporations think they can hold us all hostage here while they jerk us around every which way, perhaps some new country would want 100,000,000 trained workers and good folks to turn it into the new kid on the block provided they don't crush the people or have mechanisms already in place to do so.

[humbled_opinion]

63. Our Leaders...

Are running scared now. A circular firing squad will commence and the Democratic party will be destroyed. Why the F couldn't we get healthcare reform done 6 months ago with the momentum and F the Repukes.

Now they win and America loses.

Obama will run right because he is a politician first we are so screwed..

[sce56]

64. Been there done that tried to leave in 04 was back in 06 new life, new job, minus old spouse!

Now once the kids come of age in 7 more years I'll go again but this time it will be me, and kids if they want, no vieja loca to screw it up, long story there.
Next time I'll have a better way of going I just hope the ocean will still be hospitable then!






"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines.

Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore.

Dream.

Discover."

– Mark Twain

[FirstLight]

74. love that quote

and yes, i hope the Ocean will be hospitable for you as well...

[sce56]

80. As I have said if not for my two teenagers I'd be gone now but once they are done with

school I'm done. I just hope we can reverse the problems we have made in the oceans they are dying that I have seen!

[Name removed]

68. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[krawhitham]

69. Don't let the door hit you

[bertman]

70. Rest assured, FirstLight, that if you do run away and stop paying taxes

they WILL come and get you AND your land. And it's all legal.

So, the moral is: if you run away to your ranch, just do enough, or sell enough to cover your taxes. Then you're probably safe for a little longer.

Enjoy your cry. I wish I could join ya.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

73. Stick a fork in me. I am done, too. K&R

:thumbsup:

tune in, turn on, and drop out.

[MissDeeds]

75. I know how you feel

Every single day brings another shock, another disappointment. When you think it can't get any worse, it does. Today's move by the SCOTUS is like a death knell for our democratic way of life.
Eight years of abysmal leadership nearly ruined this country. At this rate, the next three under Obama might just finish it off.

[emsimon33]

78. I think that there are more people leaving than the media is reporting

so many of my friends have retired out of country and others have their retirement homes out of the country.

My retirement money is in euros and pounds in the UK and I have stock in China, not Wall Street through my UK bank.

And I am just middle class and so are my friends.

I also have several friends whose children accepted jobs overseas.

[depakid]

83. "watched for fraud when the banks and politicians are stealing openly"

That's become the American way, hasn't it?

[BP2]

85. Especially if you're Big Pharma and Insurance as we had in Harry's Bill. I use to roll my eyes when

I heard the phrase, "there's no difference between the parties."

Now, I question my former naivety.

[grahamhgreen]

87. Please don't give up, we need you.

[jonathon]

88. Never doubt the ability of a small group of people to change the world

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has...

We are isolated from each other and our own empowerment. We are all together but so alone.

Take care of yourself, but realize that NOW we can start.

[Grinchie]

89. Been doing it for 7 years, and it sure feels great.

Step 1. Get out of debt.
Step 2. Become skeptical and relearn all the basics from books written in the 30's
Step 3. Learn about food, food production, and nutrition
Step 4. Make your own ginger ale and quit buying Pepsi or Coke or whatever
Step 5. Start growing Organic food. If it doesn't grow, learn about Soil and how to make it.
Step 6. Realize that Food Quantity is not the same a Quality.
Step 7. Always sleep on a major purchase. Scour the web for alternatives, you may find one.
Step 8. Become self sufficient, and do as much as you can for yourself. Avoid service people and specialists if you can help it. Take the time to lern about the subject and do it.
Step 9. Become extremely frugal. Waste nothing, reuse everyting if possible, and if you cannot think of an alternate use, save it for a rainy day brainstorm. Think of a stone age person finding a chuck of steel on the ground one day.

Step 10. Learn the laws and how thay apply to you, the police, the politicians, and make it work to your benefit.
Step 11. Learn Tax Law so you'll be able to notice when it changes for better or worse and make adjustments.
Step 12. Be persistant, as you get more successful living a life outside of the Social Mold, people will become jealous and become obstructionist when they realize their is a way out of the Rat Race, and they realize they are too afraid to attempt it.
Step 13. Treat money just like that nice shovel in the toolshed. Keep it safe, don't leave it lying around. Maintain it once in a while. It's just a tool, not the reason you work.
Step 14. Work at what you love to do. Even better if you can do many things, don't be afraid to become the mechanic, Farmer, Legal Assistant, Biochemist, etc.
Step 15. Always keep safety as priority number one. If you do risky things and injure yourself, there is nobody to blame but yourself (No matter how careful you are, one day a tree will hang up and swing around to hit you -- Guaranteed.
Step 16. Learn live live simply and with Joy, every day. It's ok to get angry, but let it pass quickly and get back to business asap.
Step 17. Never take things personally, but try to figure out what motives people have for being so negative. Mostly, a well word argument can bring them around if they are resistant to assist you.
Step 18. Read Sun Tzu's the Art of War, and approach everything from favorable ground. Always wait until you have favorable ground.

Remember, Obama is just the current CEO of Enron. He will be forgotten soon enough, but he will always be remembered as "The Sell-Out". Don't let it affect your attitude. Just move on an ignore him and the horses they rode in on.

Don't buy GMO, Don't by Chinese tools or Products, Do by Cable TV, Cell Phones, or anything with a year contract. Take your money out of the bank until they start paying decent interest for the use of YOUR money. Just spend it if they cannot entice you to deposit your money with them. Keep a minimum balance to cover expenses, and keep- the rest liquid when the deal of a lifetime shows up tomorrow.

Don't buy a house yet, the Real Estate market is going to crash again this year when all of the foreclosures that are waiting for processing are released onto the market. Hopefully, they will still have wiring and plumbing, but it's doubtful.

[DeadEyeDyck]

126. Some very good advice there

we started buying food stores a couple of years ago. We believe we have about six months supply of stores that have a 30 yr lifetime. We did this after a hurricane scared us but we are glad we have it. We cycle through our stock, first to learn to cook with it and also to rotate it and keep the the stores with a shorter lifetime fresh.

[Paper Roses]

93. Slightly different situation but in the same boat. It is one big mess

we are in and we have no idea how to get out of it.
At least be happy that you are not old. That presents another set of problems.

[TicketyBoo]

100. What happens if you ARE old?

Then be thankful if you have your health, and, if you don't, be relieved that you probably won't live long enough to see the upcoming mess.

As Monty Python advises, "Always look on the bright side of life."

[TheWatcher]

95. K&R

Solidarity. :hug:

[BeHereNow]

177. Did you get my PM? n/t

BHN

[DailyGrind51]

102. You're damn right! Even when "we" win, "we" still lose! WTF?

[sandyj999]

103. I'm totally with you. My apathy is only slightly lower than my disgust with the whole"system".

A voice not heard is no voice at all.

[bdamomma]

105. I hear you.

it all comes down to 2 things: MONEY AND GREED

and fuck everyone else.

[duhneece]

106. The Repubs are organizing, so your giving up gives them the ONLY voice

In my community, the Republicans are organizing so your giving up tells our representatives that you don't care enough to fight. I will go on fighting for what is right. I have a world of activists who died fighting and I will not give up.
http://www.alamogordonews.com/ci_14243576

Protest has no permit
Obama policy objectors, gun-toters hit street corners again
Alamogordo Daily News
By Michael Johnson, Managing Editor
Posted: 01/22/2010 12:00:00 AM MST

The Otero Tea Party Patriots and Alamogordo Second Amendment Task Force members plan to stage another protest today on the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade 1973 landmark decision on abortion rights.

This time, neither group applied for a permit to stage their protest, which is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. at the intersection of 10th Street and White Sands Boulevard.

Much like the Jan. 2 protest, people are expected to be carrying picket signs, holstered firearms and rifles slung over their shoulders, which is legal under New Mexico law.

Don Omey, coordinator for the Otero Tea Party Patriots, said he contacted the Alamogordo Department of Public Safety and was told a permit wasn't needed for today's protest.

[Christa]

107. K & R

Right next to you.

[Vidar]

108. K&R.

[Pretty_in_CodePink]

110. I took off my sticker weeks ago nt

[robcon]

111. Don't just claim you are going... GO!

Meanwhile I'll be here and there trying to do the right thing.

[Robb]

112. Well, that'll show 'em. nt

[dionysus]

117. banky will make it all better;

[ChiciB1]

120. FUNNY! Was Watching The Australian Open This AM & Switched Over To MSNBC

for about 10 minutes and there was this guy from the NYT who was saying the Obama needed to move more toward the CENTER & not govern from the LEFT!!! I almost spit out my coffee because it sounded so ludicrous!! THE LEFT?? I see NOTHING about Obama governing from the LEFT!!

As a liberal myself, I had been thinking that I wanted to stay involved in some way, perhaps stick with the Howard Dean movement, but what's the use??

I was finishing up this post and lost it somehow by hitting the wrong key, but I was saying that after this year my husband & I will most probably have to sell our most valuable investment. We paid the taxes on our home and some property we bought a long time ago and had been waiting for the economy to return to sell the 5 acres! Now it seems by this time next year, it will be something we will have to do whether it's a good thing or not. Can't keep paying the taxes! And YES, we are lucky to HAVE that option, we wanted to save it for our retirement "nest egg" but doesn't look like we will get the best return on our money now!

Plus, have been looking into a REVERSE MORTGAGE thing when we can apply so we can deal with keeping our home! Thankfully both of our kids have their own homes, if they can hang on, so perhaps in 10 years our property will be worth more and they won't lose money on our property! I don't know, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do!

And I consider myself one of the lucky ones! America THE HOME OF THE BRAVE & THE FREE! Cant believe it anymore and would love to pick up and go elsewhere like perhaps Costa Rica. Not really an option, but a nice thought!

Obama has been such a disappointment so far and I guess I'm going to have to admit that my husband is right, I MUST stop trying to "change" by being an activist! It is really taking a toll on my health because my stomach stays in knots all the time. He says, "what will be, will be, and we can't do anything about it" and I suppose I need to "give in" to his way of thinking! Blogging and keeping up to date and informed is like dying a very slow death! So why not just "react" when the shit hits the fan and deal with it then. Living in Florida, we don't know when a hurricane will hit, but we prepare... so I guess getting prepared for whatever is better than watching a storm approach and worrying what's going to happen! You may KNOW it's coming, but you just deal with the storm if it hits!

The NYT's saying Obama is governing from the LEFT!!! How in the world do they get these ideas?? And THEY are the ones spreading the news!!! What more can we do?

Unless and until we as Americans really DO SOMETHING to take this country back, it's only going to get worse and those of us beating our heads against the wall are only making ourselves weaker by ruining our health trying to make things better!

I'm going to "really" try this time to stop my activism, spend more time outside, grow my plants for my yard sales and try to keep my head above water! I know at least I have a "green thumb" and can make some money that way! And Florida weather is helpful in that we can grow plants almost year round. Geez, even with the cold snap, my hibiscus still have flowers on them!

Outta here!

[eagertolearn]

121. Almost feel like giving up to the Tea Baggers and seeing how they can handle this mess

they helped to make but I know it would only get worst for those of you who are struggling so, so we have to keep the fire burning! We can't give up but we can vote and we can write letters to let our politicians know how dissatified we are with them. We need to support the few good ones.

[peace frog]

124. Give it a little time

and we will all get the opportunity to see the teabaggers mishandle this mess. It's coming in 2010 and 2012.

[abelenkpe]

131. Holy Cow! I hope not

C'mon you really want those ignorant fools running things again? Please tell me you'll at least vote to keep those nutcases out of office. I don't want my kids growing up in a world were idiots are in charge.

[peace frog]

150. Kindly read again

In no way do I want this to happen but I think it will nonethless.

[abelenkpe]

194. Yeah I worry about that too

Honestly, if I wasn't worried you are right I wouldn't say anything. I have two little kids. I'm scared to death of the ignorance and insanity that would be unleashed should tea baggers gain anymore traction. :scared:

[eagertolearn]

174. Same here. I have three about to sprout wings!!! WE CAN'T GIVE UP!!!!!

[Bonhomme Richard]

125. Makes me think about moving on a sailboat and

going off the grid as much as I can.

[Flying Dream Blues]

127. I understand completely and feel the same way at times,

especially now. I'm still hopeful (I think, because not really right now) that enough people will wake up and get angry that we will start to demand real change. I do feel like you do today, though. And that is hard.

[DisgustedInMN]

129. How bad have things gotten...

... when we as a people, take solace in words of near desperation?

If I hear, "Just hang in there" one more time, I think I'll throttle the one saying it. (figuratively, not literally) I'm fresh out of "patience." I've used up all of my "hope." I can't "keep plugging away" anymore. I'm tired from too many decades of "living by the rules," trying to build a future for me and my descendants, only to have it ALL snatched away again at the point in my life that "starting over" yet again, is no longer an option. I surrender, I'm beaten down so far now, "recovery" and "change" are merely words used to fool me into believing that there actually is "hope"

The real "audacity" is believing that there ever was "hope" we would prevail.

So, just like you, I am so fucking DONE.

[FirstLight]

139. amen

all the platitudes and the threats of the "other side" being in power...

I am sorry to say that I am not seeing 'sides' anymore...they are all corrupt bastards and they don;t REALLY care what happens to the planet or to us ...more war, more money...that is their mantra.

fuck 'em

at least if I live in my nice little coccoon of sustainibility, i know I am doing right by the planet in my own way. at least if I am 'unplugged' they are ot making money off MY lifeblood. at least if I am there i may have some good and fruitful hapy years before they nuke the planet and we are all toast...
nice sentiments for the first thing in the morning...huh?

[DisgustedInMN]

159. I've had my life..

... for the most part. What really tears me up, is the Nation and world we are leaving to my son and daughter and their wonderful children. My heart breaks to think of what we have allowed to happen. I'd love to say "I will fight on," but I just don't have much fight left. I hope to see you on the ranch, where we can live out our remaining time in peace.

[madmom]

130. Back in the 70's hubby and I and another couple had plans to

move to Canada and do just what you are talking about. We were all set up ready to go everything was in place. For some reason, I don't remember, we didn't. Oh how I wish we had.:banghead:

[Jamastiene]

132. I certainly have no hope any more.

That much is for sure.

[FirstLight]

133. wow...I can;t believe my eyes this morning

made the front page?

is everyone as pissed off and ready to cash in their chips as I am?

I dreamed of the Ranch last night...maybe it is closer to being a reality than I thought.

gonna read through the rest of the replies since last night.... thanks folks for understanding the sentiment and taking the time to give your two cents. I sincerely hope somehow we can find our way through this mess...otherwise I guess the Ranch is gonna be pretty crowded! :rofl:

[pleah]

135. K&R

[RoccoR5955]

137. Don't mourn, ORGANIZE

Instead of crying, you should be organizing, and getting out in the streets. There's real opportunity to make REAL change, as people are mad.
Look, I have been working for social change for over 40 years now, and I know that at times it can get rough, but you have to just plug on.
When you give up, they win, and if you are concerned about future generations, you will keep fighting until your last breath.

[tallahasseedem]

143. Absolutely!

:)

[FirstLight]

148. ahem... please see posts #129 & 139

"hang in there," "organize," "make it happen"...all that is commendable on your part. you have more stamina and maybe a thicker skin than I do.

They already won, the fork is IN the American people, we are so done...nothing short of torches & pitchforks on the steps of the White House will make them understand.

meanwhile I am seeking solace in my own efforts to create my OWN small tribe & community...because the rest of the world is already halfway to Hell in a handbasket - sorry, that's my perogative. and I commend you for being a fighter, really I do.

I have fought & struggled for survival most if not ALL of my adult life, and I thought things wer gonns get better, I thought that what happened in Washington could help my little life in some way. The only thing that I have seen is more greed and less opportunity. If i have the chance to go live off the land, and be TRULY self reliant (with others of like mind) if I can GET there...I am doing it.

[RoccoR5955]

151. I understand your pain, believe me.

Like I said, I have been active in these things for 41 years, since I was 14, and I am now 55. That's most of my teenage, and ALL of my adult life. Maybe I have "thicker skin," I come from Brooklyn, where you are born with it. You have to remember, that the only way that they win in the long run, is through inaction on our part. I know that it is your decision to make, I'm just saying that if you don't work for change in this world it will SURELY never happen.

[tallahasseedem]

140. I'm not...

I'm more fired up then ever.

[DisgustedInMN]

146. Excellent! Here's ..

.. my torch. Carry it in good health.

It came to me from Bobby Kennedy, so treat it with respect please.

[U2can]

144. new day same old shit

Did anyone make coffee for our representatives in office? Seems that they need to wake-up and take note of the angry base. What in the hell are they doing in DC other then working with the republicans? I wanted change and the only change I’m seeing is “new day ~ same old shit!” Might as well have kept Bush and criminals in office.

[NoFace]

147. Balancing political (social) / spiritual (personal) needs and responsibilities is crucial.

I'd say: Take some time off... then come back.

I feel the same way as you sometimes as well.
Then I turn off the computer, do some yoga, go for a walk / camping for a weekend etc.

In a few days I'm hungry for more social interaction and activism.

[scytherius]

149. Right beside you FirstLight!!

So many of us are doing the same thing though I beat you by a couple weeks on the Obama sticker.

He will NOT get my vote (or any friends and family of whom I am aware) in 2012. Most of us are sitting out (me) or voting Indie (some family).

Thanks to the disaster that is Obama, it's going to be the next generation (when the demographics really change) that has a shot at fixing this . . . if we aren't in a shooting civil war by then.

Obama is worse than Bush. He could have fixed this but he didn't. I HOPE the GOP defeats all those "moderate" (i.e. cowardly) Senators and Congressmen in 2010.

Gonna go look online for a bumpersticker something like No Obama in 2012

[tallahasseedem]

154. Just get

a Palin 2012 sticker.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

152. I never had any Obama/Biden stickers

because I knew they were no liberals.

I dreaded the thought of the McCain/Palin ticket, and I was pleased to see the white male monopoly on the presidency broken, but I saw Obama as a huge question mark.

He has turned out to be worse than I imagined.

I wish I had left the country when I had three chances in the 1980s.

[Fire1sKid]

155. You Have Us!!!

:grouphug:

[Fire1sKid]

156. I completely understand

and the worst part is the same people that despise us just purchased our government.
:mad:

[amyrose2712]

160. Definitely not alone. Thank you for your post.

My SO and I were trying to get through to his psychiatrist just WHY he is so depressed and that he has tons of reasons to be. He believes that NOTHING ever changes and nothing ever will. The Dr kept saying if you volunteer and do something it will help him feel better. But the point was lost onhim. It gets a little scary how hard he takes it. Not sure how he will take the SCOTUS news. He gets closer and closer to having no hope at all. We do talk about selling everything and dedicating our lives to helping others. Someday anyway.

[mzmolly]

161. I'm very sorry Firstlight.

We do need to get to work on jobs, NOW.

:hug:

[FirstLight]

163. honestly...even "getting to work on creating jobs"

doesn't really make me feel better.
I don't think I could even bring myself to work for the corps anyway. I am just too anarchistic by now...

Is my generation? (genX) I think we have a really different idea of what makes us loyal, and that is pretty much nothing. we will do what is required to toe the line, but as soon as a greener pasture is available, we are ready to pursue it. There are a few of my classmates and peers who are good little worker drones and who are upside down in their mortgages and willing to keep slaving for the man...but I know alot of us are just waiting until it is time to cash in the collective chips and tell the man to go fuck himself.

dammitt, that rebel in me is just too well fed!

...and what's wrong with capitalizing on the new laws in CA and starting a MMJ farm? :D

[robicon]

179. worker drone here!

Not upside down on my mortgage. Two vehicles, no liens. No welfare, no food stamps. Plenty liquid financially.


Can I be honest? Suck It Up. Working a "drone-ish" job or two to make ends meet is a fact of life. In fact, you might just have to work 3 or 4 of them until, working away, making contacts, one day you land a position that you actually love. What skillset do you possess? Don't have one? Get one. I waited tables, I bartended, cleaned stalls, moved office furniture, worked on landscaping crews, worked my ass off so that I could go to school and offer what those dastardly job providers were looking for.


The economy sucks. Everyone's hurting. Now's not the time for self-pity. Make material sacrifices, save every last cent, move to a locale with a lower cost of living. Cut off your cable. Cut of your internet access (if you're not posting from a free wifi provider).

It isn't better in Switzerland (combined 70+% income tax rate), it isn't better in Venezuela (ruthless dictatorship). You might be making 8 bucks and hour and collecting welfare, but you still have a higher standard of living than citizens in other nations.

The one thing I absolutely agree with you on is less reliance on the government. Damn straight, get off the grid, start a garden, do it yourself, you'll have to work incredibly hard, but the benefits are worth the sweat.

and lest I be misunderstood...this isn't apathy, this is reality. Don't like your reality? then change it, but don't cry about your current unfortunate position.

[Name removed]

181. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Skittles]

162. a lot of us sounded the alarms long ago

we were roundly hooted down

[saracat]

165. +1 Indeed

[kenfrequed]

176. I completely agree!

Shouted down, ignored, and accused of somehow helping repukes. Of course many of those people shouting were Lieberman-democrats. Maybe lie-ber-crats. No, too much libre-crat, might make people think of libre-cracy or some kind of government by or of the free.


In any case I am still waiting for Huge and effusive Mea Culpas from those Democrats on this board that backed Lieberman.

[BeHereNow]

178. +1 for "Yup and Yup"

bhn

[peace frog]

184. The same ones who hooted you down

are now stomping their jackboots into the faces of those who believed the lies and now express dismay.

Any excuse to hurl abuse, I guess.

[TxRider]

169. If you wait until you have the resources

It'll never happen..

Go do it now, if that has always been your dream.

Or one day you will wake up and it will be too late.

[FirstLight]

172. It sounds shallow...but

I have to basically wait till I inherit the land. Unless I get a good Book deal and then I am buying my own acreage!

[MoonRiver]

183. I'm amazed that there are some who can still fight.

Me? I'm just so damned tired. :(

[FirstLight]

204. that's the worst thing...

My fight had been beaten out of me in the bush ears, and somehow I managed to rally myself and hope for a better future with the 2008 election...now I am not so much beaten down, but I have decided to use my energy to create something on a personal scale rather than try to influence the bigger picture.

at least in my own backyard I can make something positive happen & grow my community...

[Johnny ramone]

191. Hey,I hope that you realize you dream.

:pals:

[elehhhhna]

199. Wish I still had my Our Of Iraq Now bumper sticker...

[Paladin]

200. I Know Exactly How You Feel. (n/t)