Organic Gardening and Freedom

Yesterday, I wrote a post expressing my opinion on a couple different things. One was the gullibility and stupidity of people combined with our continued loss of freedoms and another was what I consider to be a restriction of freedom via Arizonas ideas for "controlling" farmers markets.

Via the comments section, I learned of a nasty practice in another state of the county tax assessors office sending someone out to photograph the INSIDE of your home along with the inside of your garage, outbuildings etc. All in the name of "fair tax". Of course, you can refuse to allow them into your home but you will be punished with being taxed at the highest rate for the county. So, allow them to invade your privacy or be unreasonably taxed.

Anonymous commented with what appeared to me as suggesting that we, as a country, have no reason to be upset since we're all living in a fantasy of "English oppression". Now, most of us intelligent people know that history is always slanted to the opinion of the writer and 235 years ago, the people living on this continent considered the "English rule" to be oppressive. Like it or not, there would be no United States of America without the Revolutionary War (yes, one side was the English!) The US Constitution isn't an outdated piece of paper, it's what our country was founded upon! Deal with it! There's also this really cool thing called the Bill of Rights. Some of us are pretty fond of it. Again, deal with it. When elected members of our government trample on those rights, that's called OPPRESSION. Define oppression-noun- the exercise of authority in a burdensome, cruel or unjust manner. Now, I won't bother to go thru a list of just the latest dirty deeds because unless you are one of those people that thinks we need MORE government control (of course in the name of safety, those terrorists are dangerous!) you already know exactly what I'm talking about.

Whew, I need a cup of home grown coffee now. Next is the control of our food from the dirt to the grocery store. My blog pal PP, whom I have high regard for, has spoken up on the subject of Arizonas farmers market paperwork. PP, I can see your point with rude people and they should most certainly have more manners and if they choose to continue to be ignorant, the sponsor of the farmers market should do something about it. As for the produce being trucked in from elsewhere, do you really think government(USDA) control is the answer to that?

I've been growing my own food for years. I do it because I don't like what the government considers to be acceptable and safe. I don't use chemicals or grow GMO crops. I don't have to provide a "crop plan" or allow a government official from the USDA to map and photograph my farm to prove I don't or to tell me I am growing my food correctly. Define organic-adj-of, relating to, derived from, or characteristic of living plants and animals; of or relating to animal or plant constituents or products having a carbon basis. So, I consider the USDA controlling the word "organic" in the same light as Monsanto cornering the market on commercial seed and polluting the world with it(GMO SEED). The USDA says that I can't call my organically grown foods "organic" because they haven't approved it? Ah, but it's all in the name of safer food, isn't it? We all know how much smarter the government is that we are. What would we do without the government telling us what is safe to eat? How ever did our species manage to get this far??? Thank goodness the USDA is here to save me from all that dangerous food out there. I wouldn't want to be healthy and happy from eating a tomato that was grown in my neighbors yard instead of the one treated with chemicals and trucked 500 miles to Walmart.

Now, I know full well that we as a society have been pretty successfully conditioned to believe that the government is the cure all for every problem we have. That help comes with a price, nothing is free. Someone has to pay for it all. So, it all comes down to a single choice, do you want to be controlled or do you want to be free?

What is Wrong Here?

On the 235th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence from oppression and tyranny at the hands of England, I am truly saddened by where our beloved America is headed. The amount of idiots running around that have no tangible grasp on why we have a big nation wide party on July 4th of every year astounds me. These same people willingly accept things such as this- Elite are not even trying to hide how much they hate the US Constitution anymore and Media attacks America on Independence Day.

I am reminded every day that I am not free. I think free, I feel free but I am not free. My land is not paid for and I am still connected to the grid. Even when my land does get paid for, I will still be required to pay an annual duty to the government in the form of property taxes. Meanwhile, the government continues it's attack on all of us with it's control freak agenda.

Did you know that the USDA owns the word "organic"? In the state of Arizona, in order to sell your garden produce at the farmers market, you must submit an application with directions to your garden/home, a crop plan and submit to an inspection of your land. Political control freaks take over farmers market. Check out the 5 minute video for yourself. ( fixed this link, my bad)

So, have we reached the level of oppression that caused our forefathers to declare war yet? Have we been slapped down enough, unreasonably taxed enough, enslaved enough?

My rebellion is in my fight for self sufficiency. My refusal to suck on the government tit. My refusal to sign up for government handouts. My refusal to eat and drink the poison our government supports, protects above individual citizens and uses our tax dollars to control us with. Our own choices have brought our country to it's knees. We voted those thieving, greedy bastards into office and we keep re-electing them! We keep on buying products made by companies such as Monsanto. WE keep them in business! We continue to export billions of American dollars to china in exchange for cheap crap we don't need. If we are incapable of changing ourselves, we deserve what we get.

Another Slap to Food Freedom

Yes, one more slap in the face of American Freedom. We are well on the way to a New World Order and a socialist Utopia. FDA claims power to seize food without evidence of contamination. Yep, you read that right, the government doesn't feel that they need a reason to usurp your rights to eat what ever you choose. They're going to do it at the point of a gun whenever they choose. The bold type in the article is links and at the very bottom is the new FDA rules the government will be implementing on us very soon. Excerpt from the article:

"On May 4th, the FDA stated:

Previously, the FDA’s ability to detain food products applied only when the agency had credible evidence that a food product presented was contaminated or mislabeled in a way that presented a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.

Beginning July, the FDA will be able to detain food products that it has reason to believe are adulterated or misbranded for up to 30 days, if needed, to ensure they are kept out of the marketplace. The products will be kept out of the marketplace while the agency determines whether an enforcement action such as seizure or federal injunction against distribution of the product in commerce, is necessary."

The push to poison us with scientifically engineered and genetically modified food is constant. Monsanto's desire to control our entire food supply is in full steam ahead mode. If anyone doesn't eat the manufactured poison they spew, those people will be subject to persecution and prosecution.

Hmmm, this flares up the rebel streak in me. This makes me want to go plant tomatoes in the city flower pots and throw indian corn seed around. Just the blatant audacity of our politicians makes me want to kill a steroid and antibiotic free rooster for supper and make an extra loaf of home ground wheat bread every day. The only way to stop this stupidity is to stop consuming. Quit buying their poison food. Stop putting money in Monsanto's pocket by growing your own food. If you can't grow it for yourself, buy it from someone local that does. Be a part of the solution.

Self Sustained -Food is Survival

I read this yesterday and it made me very angry so I put it on the back burner until I got over my initial urge to , well, something. The original article is posted over at naturalnews.com and the title of the article is FDA says you have no right to real food unless they give you permission first. Excuse me? Needless to say, time has not lessened my intense anger over this. To put it frankly, who the hell do they think they are? There is no one breathing, on this earth that will tell me what I can and can not eat. I will consume whatever I damn well please, when ever I damn well please! The FDA can kiss my furry butt! As a matter of fact, I slobbered my breakfast toast with fresh, home made butter, made from unpasteurized cream and ate fresh from the chicken eggs too! And, God forbid, I'm drinking unpasteurized milk in my coffee!

Wake up folks, this is what your tax dollars go to support. This is what your government has in mind for you, complete and total control. Our government intends to push foods laden with chemicals and preservatives down our throats and we are supposed to be good little mindless slaves and like it. But, don't worry, when we all get sick from the fake food we've been told to eat, there is the universal healthcare mandate waiting to decide if we get proper health care! Of course, the government will be in full control over that too, very soon. So, keep going to your job every day and keep working so you can keep paying your taxes and the government can stay funded and control every aspect of your life.

As for me, all I have to say isn't very Christian of me, so I'll just keep it to myself for now while I figure out how to produce more real food in the garden spot I have. I will continue to eat what I produce for myself. I will not be forced to consume commercial foods, not now, not ever.

Food Control?

I should have gone out in the cold and done my chores but instead, I had to read some news. I found a great video interview in an article on the completely ignorant move for complete governmental control of our food supply, aka-food safety and modernization act. The man in the interview has some pretty impressive credentials found here at Home Sweet Farm. The video is worth a watch.

Cold and Snowy Wednesday

This is one of the first things I do every morning now. If you aren't awake when Lucky realizes somebody is moving around in the house, you will be shortly! He's a pre-schooler with tap shoes combined with an old world town crier. I have gained a whole new respect for goats and how incredibly smart they are. Lucky is for the most part, "paper trained". He forgets once in a while but he knows here the "spot" is. Which, of course, makes my life easier with him in the house until the weather breaks. I had just resigned myself to following him around and cleaning the floors on a constant basis while he was in here but he has really impressed me.

I didn't get much done around the farm yesterday. The small amount of snow we had fall made the roads terrible and my neighbor up the road needed assistance, again. So, after all my own farm chores, a quick floor wash, the huge pile of dishes I find in my kitchen every day and a couple cups of coffee, off the boy and I went to spend 4 hours on the neighbors farm. Then a trip to the college to take the other kid something she forgot when she was home this past weekend. Like I was saying, the roads were terrible. Good thing there's 10 dozen eggs in the fridge!

Now, I'm taking a short break, reflecting on how badly my back hurts today (the darn weather) drinking a little coffee and dreaming about seed starting while reading a form I got in the mail from the county assessing officer. The county now wants all the manufactured homes "registered", including copies of their titles. I seriously doubt it's so they can lower taxes. Call me paranoid if you like, but I never find any type of "governmental control" a good thing and I know good and well that anyone that says "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you" is a bold faced liar. Now I'm all mad, LOL, thinking about how the county is going to screw me this time while I'm sitting in this piece of crap, falling apart, poorly insulated, air leaky dump that I can't start any seeds in yet! LOL I know, I need a hobby...

Finally some rain!

It was real rain with some thunder boomers and it even knocked the power out for a few hours. The storm knocked a branch off the sugar maple at the top of the drive. Now, of course, it's 3 times as humid as it's been, LOL. Yesterday tho, with the storm pushing it, it was actually only 90 degrees in the kitchen and only 85% humidity. I dehydrated some taters and got a batch of blackberry jam done.

Check out this potato I dug out of the tires. Well, it sure does to me.

The goats are now jumping in and out of their pen whenever they feel like it. I was thinking that maybe I had a loose spot somewhere and they were just pushing out but this morning, I let the boy sleep and went off and took care of the morning chores all by myself. As I got close to the goat pen, they all jumped out to greet the feed bucket I was carrying. I got into the pen, dumped the rain water out of the feed pans and they all jumped back in! Hmmm, this could prove to be a problem. Not much I can do about it right now tho. Cattle panels are pretty low on the list, LOL.

I managed to get 3 bags of cans picked up so far. The county has been mowing the ditches and chewing them up pretty good. But, it does make it easier to find any new ones people throw out their vehicle windows. Sometimes I'm glad this is such a dirty state. Lots of aluminum laying around. I'm hoping to have the cow all lined up by this coming weekend so I need to keep working on getting cans picked up so I can pay the man. I'm still $100 short. I can hardly wait to make some cheese. Especially not having to give up half what I make to "pay" for the milk.

I browsed one of my favorite news sites today and found this cool article on eating local organic foods. I thought it was share worthy. I instantly liked it because it reflects my whole attitude toward the USDA and government control of our food source. That same thing I always preach about he who controls the food controls humanity. With the fake food safety bill waiting on the Senate to pass it (S 510 I think it is), we're just a dogs hair away from the government controlling every aspect of what we eat. This bill waiting says that "we" ( citizens of this country) will no longer be "allowed" to grow our own food even for personal consumption. Guess who wrote this idiotic bill? Oh, you guessed it, a Monsanto executive! LOL, I dare some USDA rep to visit me on my farm and tell me it's illegal for me to feed myself. Anybody who finds the whole idea of the government controlling our food to be completely idiotic had better make sure they have a good supply of heirloom, open pollinated seed before there isn't any left. If Monsanto gets their way, we'll all be paying out the nose to be poisoned with GMO food we are forced to eat.

Enemys of the State

I really had no intention of writing about this at all. But, the amount of emails asking me about it has prompted me to make a formal response...


First off, I'm a homesteader. I work hard every day to grow my own food because I do not like being fed chemicals and preservatives combined with some politician telling me I am not smart enough to know what's good for me. I use what I know to try and help others achieve a small bit of self sufficiency too. Through this blog and various other forums across the internet. The forum in question is the American Preppers Network forum. "FREEDOM THROUGH TEACHING OTHERS SELF RELIANCE" You do not need to be a member of this forum to read what I wrote in the thread that was quoted. Quoted by whom you ask? Ah, here's the real kicker! The Anti Defamation League (ADL) put out a report in pdf form called "Violent Voices: Anti Government Extremism Takes on New Intensity". It seems, to fit their agenda, they chose to pilfer a single line from what I posted on a thread about the healthcare vote and used it in their opening paragraph of the Introduction. here is what they used..... “The antichrist [President Obama] will sign this [health care legislation] and start stealing money from our hard earned paychecks immediately, with his newly hired IRS agents as his strongarm. Bloodshed is coming…” Post by “mmpaints” on the American Preppers Network Forum, March 22, 2010.

Here is what I wrote in it's original form and context on the APN forum.....
Postby mmpaints on Mon Mar 22, 2010 1:03 pm
I watched the entire fiasco via cspan live thru the day and into the evening. We have no representation in Congress, the process is a total joke. The people that stood up to speak against the bill were constantly interupted and talked over and Nancy Pelosi is so far out in left field, it's amazing. The speaker of the house has got to be on drugs. Not a single Republican voted yes on any of the votes and the Dems still crammed this down our throats. 2/3 majority my ass, this was nothing short of criminal. The antichrist will sign this and start stealing more money from our hard earned paychecks immediately, with his newly hired IRS agents as his strongarm. Bloodshed is coming..........

So, apparently it isn't defamation if the ADL says it. It seems to me that it's pretty obvious where the agenda of this "Leftie" group is coming from. Frankly, as far as I am concerned, the ADL can kiss my Constitution.

As for me, I will continue to grow my own food, free of the poisons pushed on us by corporate America and I'm going to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every single morning at the top of my lungs, in my front yard so the whole world can hear me.

Now, back to working on the garden. I wonder if my home made pig crap, goat crap, rabbit crap fertilizer mix will explode? ROFL Fecal matter goes boom, they all smell like pig crap. Sounds appropriate to me........

Private farm-self sustained living

This is a private farm. I live here and work the land, planting, tending and harvesting for my own benefit. This is how I eat. I grow grain crops to feed the animals I raise here, most are born right here on the farm. Some years are not as good as others(this one for instance) but the good years crops held in reserve help me make it thru the bad years.

One of the major things I do to keep my gardens going is to catch rain water. The rain water is free and it's so much better for the garden than "treated and chlorinated" water you have to pay for.

I grow my food without pesticides and without chemical fertilizers. My animals are antibiotic and steroid free. How much healthier and ecologically friendly can you get?

Nothing gets in my craw more than my own government telling me I am incapable of handling nature properly. Incapable of providing myself healthy, disease free food. So, people we've voted into office that have never owned a single cow or any other livestock, never grown a garden or eaten anything that didn't come from a store, think they know better than I do what's "good for me". So, you say "Kat, what are you talking about?" Read this little tidbit and it will become more clear....

Clean Water Restoration Act, Food safety bills

For example, the Clean Water Restoration Act (S.787) now before congress would give the feds control of all water (including rainwater) in the United States; its purpose being to skirt two solid Supreme Court rulings that told the feds they had regulatory jurisdictional only over the navigable waters of the U.S.--the way congress intended the initial Clean Water Act to work, and through which the U.S. agriculture and environmental communities have worked comfortably over the last 30 years.

What other words besides regulatory enslavement describe NAIS-imposed controls on ranchers, farmers, and livestock owners that define work they must perform and computer entries they must record daily under threat of penalties as high as $500,000 and ten years in prison for mere infractions?

USDA lists 33 NAIS ‘species’ for possible disease communication like TB (of which people are major carriers) that must be tracked under a WTO NAIS system. If the original NAIS program is killed by congress, then the tracking of these livestock can easily be folded into the “food safety” bills now working their way through congress.

American ranchers and farmers have heard the ‘white-shirted’ USDA posturings on “. . .safe food, traceability, world trade, and pandemic fears. . ."--flawed issues all in desperate need of factual debate, promised transparency, and rejection; that reek of regulatory enslavement for every independent family farm, ranch, and livestock operation in America.

NAIS wording and other stringent regulatory proposals are also camouflaged in H.R. 875--Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, H.R.759 --Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2009, H.R.. 814 --Tracing and Recalling Contamination Act of 2009, H.R. 1332-- Safe FEAST Act of 2009, S.425-- Food Safety and Tracking Improvement Act, and S. 510--Food Safety and Modernization Act.

Of these bills, H.R. 814 with broad government code words like “non-specific” “all foods” “transport of all foods” holds the most potential for a like-it-or-not revival of NAIS.

If passed, these bills will straight-jacket America’s farmers, ranchers, and livestock owners; threatening their lives and all they hold dear with fines and imprisonment if they do not obey; forcing them to become 21^st century sharecroppers on their own land.

So, while the rest of the country is wrapped up with the "cap & trade","national health care" and "mandatory swine flu vaccinations" stupidity, the evil that is congress is end running your food supply.

It seems to me that the Dept of Homeland Security needs to re-evaluate their definition of "domestic terrorist". It is apparent to me that Congress is full of the only terrorists I'm worried about..........

NO, I WILL NOT COMPLY, PERIOD!

Cooper Vs. Terrorism

I felt this was appropriate for today... written by Col. Jeff Cooper in the 1975 Guns & Ammo Annual.

Cooper VS. Terrorism
by Jeff Cooper

So here we are in the "Age of Extortion." Our local friendly felons have finally discovered what has long been taken for granted in what we used to call "more backward countries"—that crime does pay—in millions. All you need to do is threaten to do something terrible and people will throw money at you. You don't need any particular talent or skill to get rich this way, and you don't need education or training. The only requisite is nastiness, and that is no rare quality.

We can speculate at length upon why this foulness has come upon us so strikingly at this point in our history, but I doubt that any incontrovertible conclusion will result. My own suggestion is simply overpopulation. Like rats, we get testier as we get crowded. By simple arithmetic, if the proportion of goblins to people in our society remains constant, doubling our population doubles the number of goblins. And they reinforce each other as their numbers rise.

But such speculation is academic. We have the problem; never mind why. What shall we do about it? In a socialist atmosphere, the immediate response is to hand the problem to the state. Pass a law! Any law. Just so you can say that something has been done. And above all, spend money. We have come to assume that the more money we spend on a problem, the quicker it will go away.

Now it is quite true that the state can indeed abolish extortion, terrorism, and crime. History offers many examples of nations in which none of these things existed. We can start with Senacherib of Assyria and browse on up to Porfirio Diaz of Mexico. An iron fist will do it. That's the state's simple and effective answer to disorderly conduct. If you want it arranged so that the state will protect you, you can do so. What you give up in return is your liberty.

No deal.

The man to protect you is you. Not the state, not the agent of the state, and not your hired hand—YOU!

How often is our intelligence insulted by the fatuous claim that we should rely on the police for our physical security! I cannot believe that the people who advance this idea believe it themselves. The police do indeed abort a certain amount of violent crime by their coincidental presence on the scene, and that's fine. But to tell us that all we have to do is call a cop when confronted by a troll is to talk like a fool—and those who tell us this know it.

The "in" crime today is kidnapping. The police have never prevented a kidnapping. Not once. On the other hand, the intended victim often has. You don't hear much about these latter episodes, because a crime that does not take place is not newsworthy, but it is my business to know about such things and I keep track of them as best I may, and there have been at least a dozen instances brought to my attention in the last two years.

Hiring other people, public or private, to protect yourself, is perhaps not totally futile, but it must never be considered more than marginally effective. Both policemen and bodyguards can be suborned, and skill levels are problematical.

Pistol skill is not something to count on in a hired hand. Two recent examples stand out because they were caught by television cameras. These were the attempts on Governor Wallace and Imelda Marcos. In each case, guards were plentiful, and armed, but not sufficiently skilled. In each case, there was plenty of time to hit the attacker before he acted, but those responsible reacted only afterward.

On the other hand, the intended victim can seek his own skill level, and he can put it to use more quickly than any other person when he suddenly finds that he himself is a target.

Your best protector is you!

Apart from the skill factor, there is the matter of reliability. A man you hire to protect you can be hired by somebody else not to. It is nerve-wracking to be dogged about by armed men on your daily rounds, and it is also both conspicuous and un-private.

Some years ago, I undertook to train the personal guard of a certain chief of state in pistolcraft. When the course was completed, I was able to address my client thus:

"Your Excellency, 24 of your 28 men are now distinctly more efficient with their sidearms than the generality of those who guard the President of the United States. They are very good, but I don't know who they are—I hope you do."

He knew what I meant. One of his predecessors in office had been murdered by one of his own guards. Of my students who previously employed bodyguards, most now do not, except as car watchers.

Your best protector is you!

Still we hear, over and over again, that we should not be armed, that we should not resist, that we should rely on the police for our personal safety—that our best answer to violence is to give up. Such drivel demands a stronger stomach than mine.

One bleeding-heart type asked me in a recent interview if I did not agree that "violence begets violence." I told him that it is my earnest endeavor to see that it does. I would like very much to ensure—and in some cases I have—that any man who offers violence to his fellow citizen begets a whole lot more in return than he can enjoy.

Your best protector is you! The obvious way to eradicate crime is to eradicate criminals, but neither the lawgivers nor the constabulary seem inclined to do this. The man who elects to prey upon society deserves no consideration from society. If he survives his act of violence, he rates a fair trial—but only to be sure that there has been no mistake about his identity. If he is killed in the act, there can be little doubt about whose act it was.

But we don't want a "Porfiriato," in which the police simply shoot all suspects out of hand. Such a regime may indeed have a certain austere appeal in today's climate of urban chaos, but to trade one's liberty for security is to sell one's soul to the devil, as Ben Franklin noted. And, to quote James Burnham, it is both our lives and our liberties that are at stake.

Laws are not the answer. We have laws against murder. We have laws against kidnapping. We have laws against extortion. And murder, kidnapping, and extortion are on the rise. The answer, it seems to me, is wrath. Let the thug take his chances with an alert, prepared, and angry citizenry. It may very well spoil his whole career.

This is not a call for vigilantism: It is a call for self-reliance. For those who feel short on self-reliance, I have a suggestion. Take up practical pistol shooting as a recreation. It is a good game. It is fun. It is "relevant." And it does wonders for your self-reliance.

Your best protector is—as it always has been—you!

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For more from Col. Jeff Cooper, visit FR Frogs pages, there's a link on my sidebar. This page is located here-


Stay safe and keep prepping!