Our fate can change the course of our lives in a split second; often, it is beyond our control, but we must be ready to adapt and be resourceful enough to make the best of new circumstances. America is likely to see some dramatic economic changes in the next few months. We must be resolute to endure the possible collapse of the world’s economic systems. I suggest having supplies on hand to last at least a month and plans to unite with family members in case communications fail. I hope, I am wrong, but with leadership that seems intent on destroying or at least inhibiting the economy, the possibility of collapse is a real possibility that is heightened with the refusal of profligate members of the EU to impose austerity upon their entitled masses or the reluctance of those entitled masses to accept sacrifice; therefore, despite efforts by the overly leveraged Obama administration to avert the collapse of European Socialism, essentially by borrowing money to loan it to countries drowning in debt and unable to borrow the same money from legitimate sources. The world will now see how interrelated the international banking systems are and how fragile the US economy is under an incompetent Socialist leadership that like the leaders of the EU refuses to confront the problems of debt, entitlement, and profligate spending. Perhaps this story will give us hope for the future and for overcoming adversity by turning a disaster into a future with different possibilities.

This is part three of the Oregon Trail story. If you haven’t read the first two parts, Three Island Crossing and The Spaniard don’t worry about it, there’s still an adventure story here, without the other two. The violence is graphic as is life: you will not find me being politically correct, so please don’t bother to mention those indiscretions.

Cougar Cub of the Metis (pronounced MayTee)

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, as he was named by a proud French father with a sense of humor, who spent a total of three winters with a beautiful Indian maiden before deserting her to go trapping in the wilds of what was to become British Columbia, and never bothering to return. She died of starvation four winters later and left her child to beg for survival among the village of teepees belonging to the Metis people of Lac La Biche, near Fort Edmonton. Louis ingratiated himself from family to family as the food supplies fluctuated with the hunting success among different families.

Louis earned the nickname Cougar Cub honestly enough, by raising an abandoned Cougar Cub to maturity, as a boy of about twelve. The cougar stayed with him for almost two years; until, the call of the wild beckoned it, away from Louis, to join nature in its true feral state. From the day the Cougar left and for the rest of his life, Louis was never called Louis again; he was Cougar Cub of the Metis. Cougar was a bright lad destined for leadership. At least, several of the Metis elders considered him an excellent choice. He was not given to hard liquor, a vice that ruined many of the young men. He wasn’t quarrelsome or mean to weaker people. He had a quick mind and often provided good suggestions in the tribal lodge. He also had keen eyesight an uncanny ability to carve objects from wood.

He was an orphan of the mixed blood people, a large tribe called Metis; a mixture of different Native American tribes and French or other European types, they lived not quite as natives and not quite as Whites. They were unique and made every effort to remain that way. True eclectics, they had no reservations against adopting the features they liked from either culture.

They were a hardy race. Horses, hunting, singing, drinking, and the lusty pursuits occupied their free time. They often worked as voyagers, courier du bois, and trappers, but their favorite pastime was hunting buffalo.

Every year, a hunt was organized from Fort Edmonton in the fall. It was not just for men; it was a family affair with a dichotomy of labor that recognized the importance of women within the family. It was also a chance to renew old friendships and learn the news of the Metis people. Women, children, and old people were all anxious to participate in securing meat for the winter and the one big annual gathering of the Metis people.

The vehicle of choice was the Red River Cart, a single axle horse or ox drawn cart with wooden axles; actually, there was no nails or metal; the entire vehicle was built of wood using mortise and tenon, and dove tail joinery. For people who could not afford nails and screws, the Red River Cart, named for the area that would eventually become Manitoba, the wooden cart was a creation of genius. With axles made of Maple to reduce flex, felloes were made of ash or oak because it could be bent with steam and because of its durability, and the hubs were made of elm because of its resistance to splitting; the Red River Cart came into prominence in 1800, primarily to service the fur trade, it was in use from Minnesota and into the farthest trading posts of Canada. The carts were primarily pulled by oxen; especially, in the boggy country, the maximum payload was nine hundred pounds on trail conditions and forage that a horse couldn’t survive on. An ox could cover 25 miles a day in the bog country without roads. In the drier prairies, horses were used about half the time. The could manage sixty miles a day, but the payload was reduced to five hundred pounds.

In the east and in Minnesota, the cart was primarily used for the fur trade, but once the Metis saw the advantages of the Red River Cart in buffalo hunting and migration, their lives were changed almost instantly.

The Red River Cart, named after the original designation for the country that was to become Manitoba, where it was the only vehicle that could travel through the bogs, it became a symbol of pride for the Metis; for it reflected the migratory ability of the horse Indians of the Plains, who used the travois and the pack horse to carry their possessions and yet, the technological advantages of a wheeled vehicle, without a complicated steering mechanism for a front axle, reflected their White heritage.

The Metis’ carts of the plains carried supplies for each family, and their teepee or wickiup, the buffalo hide tents of the plains. The children, old people, and women carrying children or with infants took turns walking and riding; while the young men dashed around on fiery horses trying to impress the young women. Older men, who had already had their share of horse falls and the broken bones that come with such accidents, were content to walk their horses with an occasional burst of speed for something important.

The teenage girls rode their horses in a group at a walk and tried not be too obvious in their admiration of the wild and reckless riding of the young men competing for their attention. They giggled and covered their mouths as they looked at each other when a youth would ride by and drop off one side of his horse at a gallop to let his feet hit the ground and be thrown almost effortlessly back on the horse’s back.

There were approximately 800 carts when they left the campground South of Fort Edmonton and more would join up as they traveled south to hunt the traditional hunting grounds West of Medicine Hat to the mountains. The buffalo could be anywhere in this vast country. The scouts were excellent trackers and they would be sent out to find the herds and then report back. They would find the buffalo eventually, but until then, everyone who wasn’t a scout was taking part in a celebration of life and the social life of the hunt.

The wheels and axles of the carts were without grease, because the grease became a trap for dirt and sand, causing the wheels to seize from trapped dirt; thus the continuous whine of wood upon wood was horrendous. The noise was so loud when hundreds of them were moving, that people could no longer carry on conversations. The screeching noise could be heard for miles. Whites from England, who heard the noise compared it to a thousand bagpipes getting started.

The Metis didn’t like the orderly White man’s method of travel, they preferred to spread out on line and not breathe the dust of those in front of them, at least if they weren’t following a narrow trail.

The Metis were a proud and handsome race from many different tribes, but in time and after a few generations, they lost the cultural traits of their home tribes and felt alienated as their connections became less distinct. Whites often discriminated against them, thus they felt united in their common heritage, which was a diverse mixture of heritages and blood.

There was bitterness among some who felt the sharp slap of rejection from both Whites and Native tribes, but most had a surreal appreciation for life and nature, with a cheerful disposition and a smile for everyone, they were determined to let no one else intrude on their happiness with bigotry and hatred.

Cougar was one of these young men. He loved the outdoors and the animals, but he had an uncanny ability with wood. With only the most basic tools, he made tables, chairs, and desks with a fascinating ease that seemed effortless.

At Lac La Biche, an old carpenter from Switzerland observed him working as a boy, using little more than a knife. He was amused and brought out an old leather satchel with fine old European carpenter tools.

He gave young Cougar a combination square, a ruler, two chisels, a plane, two saws, a brace and bit, and a small spirit level. He spent several hours with the boy teaching him about numbers, how to use the different tools, and how to sharpen them.

From that afternoon of instruction and those few tools, Cougar became a carpenter and eventually had a thriving business in Fort Edmonton by the time he was twenty. He was wealthy enough to buy tools and hardwoods for furniture from Ontario and have it shipped to his shop in Fort Edmonton. The wives of Edmonton’s most successful men, all wanted the furniture that Cougar made in his bustling shop.

He had missed the hunt for several years, but he planned to go this year and renew his old friendships. He had a traditional Red River Cart that he used to deliver his furniture and various projects, but he wanted to show off his skills and appreciable success, with a new finely made Red River Cart. He ordered iron axles and steel rimmed oak wheels with iron races from Ontario and began drawing plans for the most beautiful Red River Cart ever built.

He was not a man who could do anything half way. The cart would reflect his pride and craftsmanship. He had no family, so he would drive the wagon and have a hunting horse tied to the back for the actual hunt.

He ordered a new rifle, he could afford the best, so he bought the new Sharps buffalo rifle. The project was easy for him, but he still went out of his way to make his cart a work of art. The body was framed in Oak, sheathed in Maple, and trimmed in Walnut. The wood was finished with a walnut stain made by Cougar by cooking walnut hulls down to a gelatinous mass and straining away the solids, then applying the stain in thin layers until he obtained the color enhancing quality of the stain that allowed the beautiful grain patterns to show through. Hot bees wax was later rubbed into the wood to preserve the finish. Traditionally, the carts were built free of nails by using classic mortise and tenon and dovetail joinery, this aspect was Cougars stock and trade.

Cougar dreamed of driving his cart across the prairies for more than acquiring a buffalo. For this was a chance for him to say to the friends of his childhood, that he had become a success in life.

When Cougar finished his cart, he hitched up his driving horse and drove through the dirt roads of Fort Edmonton. Whites, Metis, and Indians all cheered the young man and his masterpiece whether they knew him or not, for his cart was an image of grace and beauty, that represented the open prairies and the freedom of the Metis people.

Cougar felt a mixture of pride and happiness for his cart to be so well received. Now, he needed his cooking and sleeping gear, and a teepee. He drove over to the fur trading post and told the manager he needed a smaller buffalo hide teepee and the rails. He bought cooking utensils and a set of crockery; he splurged a bit on the crockery in case he met a potential wife and invited her and her parents for dinner.

He drove out onto the campsite at daylight on the morning the hunt was to begin. The teepees were being taken down and the camping gear loaded on the carts.

He received many admiring glances when he joined the procession and a few faces showed scorn, especially from some of the young men riding spirited half broke horses.

They were the least of Cougar’s worries, he was here to see boyhood friends and find a wife.

Cougar brought his basic carpenter tools and fixed several wagons for people, free of charge.

The Metis hunters traveled far to the Southwest searching for the elusive herds. The scouts had located massive herds of a hundred thousand spread out along the Sheep River, about three hundred miles south of fort Edmonton. These people had a different concept of time, for them the objective of the hunt was to secure meat for the winter, so the distance was of little concern. After driving for several days, they camped on Fish Creek and made plans for the hunt the next morning on Sheep Creek about ten miles to the South.

The hunters planned to encircle the herd before daylight and kill as many as possible before they stampeded, they would then follow the herd until the horses were exhausted and kill as many as possible. They would try to kill enough so that every wagon had a carcass and a buffalo robe to take home for the winter.

There was a problem, Cougar couldn’t hunt and drive his cart at the same time.

He made several repairs for Jerome, who had a charming wife and a beautiful daughter. He had been admiring the sixteen-year old maiden, Hawk’s Cry from a distance; she resembled the high-cheeked native type more than her French ancestors, she had thick long black hair, there was only one feature that gave away her White heritage, her eyes were green with a golden brown ring around them.

Although her father wore the White Man’s clothing like Cougar, she and her mother dressed in traditional native dresses of tanned leather with intricate beadwork and porcupine quills decorating the area covering their breasts. They could barely communicate with Cougar, since they mainly spoke in their native tongue. Cougar spoke in a combination of French and English that was difficult for someone unused to the Metis to understand.

He invited Hawk’s Cry and her parents to dinner that night. It was a simple dinner, but they were impressed with the polite young man’s friendly nature and a well-cooked meal of bacon, beans, potatoes with butter, and cornbread.

After dinner he asked in sign if Hawk’s Cry could drive his wagon to his kill site, since he was alone. Her parents looked at her with a look that said it was her choice. He could see the disappointment in her eyes at first, because she was an excellent rider and hoped to borrow a horse, to be as close to the action as possible, not back with the screaming kids and old people, but she realized that Cougar Cub was a special catch and he might lose interest if she said no.

She agreed with a smile and the dinner party was over, Cougar asked Hawk Cry’s father, Jerome Fast Horses, if he would ride with him in the morning. Jerome’s eyes flashed and he was proud to have the young man ask him to ride with him. He was thirty-nine, and most men were no longer riding on the buffalo hunts at that age. Jerome promised to be ready at two hours before daylight.

It was customary for women to break camp and load the gear, but Cougar thought it might seem presumptuous of him to expect Hawk’s Cry to load his teepee.

Everything was loaded and his driving horse was hitched to the cart when Hawk’s Cry walked to his camp. She smiled, climbed in the driver’s seat and was one of the first carts to get on the trail. She arrived on a hill above Sheep Creek about a mile away and heard the first rifle shots just as the sun was burning away the early morning fog away.

The buffalo stood in silent confusion as thirty or forty of them dropped to their knees and then fell over sideways. One of the shots was poorly aimed and hit a hoof. The animal bellowed in pain and started to run on three legs. This strange behavior caused the rest of the herd to stampede to the West. Some of the herd crossed the creek and were shot as they scrambled up the opposite bank. Soon all the hunters were running alongside the horses and firing at close range into their backs.

Within a few minutes, the majority of the buffalo had outrun the horses, and it was all over. There were buffalo carcasses spread out for five miles along Sheep Creek and she saw where at least two riders and their horses had fallen, and were trampled to death.

She felt a moment of sadness, but this was life, you hunted and sometimes you died in the pursuit of the animals. It was a fairly simple explanation for the human toll below.

She drove Cougar’s cart down to the river to look for the men and her mother followed in her father’s old cart. She heard her mother call her name and turned to see her pointing to a small Fleur de Lis flag waving in the air about a mile up stream. Her father’s father had given it to Jerome when he was a young man. It was awarded by French soldiers to her relative for gallantry in a battle back East. He always had it with him and today it was perfect for his wife to locate his buffalo.

Hawk’s Cry saw Cougar working on a huge carcass about two hundred yards beyond her father; he had the traditional blue and white Metis flag, with the symbol for infinity. She waved to her mother and drove up to Cougar with a big grin. She was dressed in a white smoke tanned deerskin dress trimmed with martin and moose hide moccasins trimmed in beaver. These clothes were not meant for work, they were worn to catch Cougar’s attention.

The ploy worked well, when he saw her, he was speechless. He stood up to look at her, stepped backward to trip and fall over the gut pile. She smiled with flashing eyes and a mouth full of snow white teeth, he still couldn’t say anything in front of her overwhelming beauty.

She told him he had killed a good buffalo in sign language and turned to let him appreciate her feminine form. He still was unable to speak. She said in a language he didn’t understand, “I will put on my work dress, and help,” but he was oblivious. He watched her in awe as she pulled her best dress over her head to reveal one of nature’s most perfect feminine forms. She wondered why Cougar was being rude and staring at her nude body. She wasn’t shy, but it was considered rude to stare at someone’s nude form.

Cougar stared at the first nude female he had ever seen, for half a minute and then dropped down to continue skinning the carcass. Hawk’s Cry laughed at his strangeness and slipped one of her old dresses over her head and changed moccasins. She started to tie the leather thong to tighten the V neck opening over her breasts, but then decided to leave it open, since Cougar seemed to enjoy looking at her nakedness, maybe he might want to look some more.

She was quick with her hands and together they skinned the buffalo in short order. Cougar was lost in love, but he couldn’t look at her, and she was beginning to realize the power she had over this talented young man.

Cougar split the skull with an ax to remove the brain for tanning the hide and cut out the tongue for lunch. They quartered the animal and Cougar lifted the quarters into the cart. Hawk’s Cry tried to help with the lifting, but he was so strong, she was just in the way.

They drove over to her dad’s kill and Hawk’s Cry felt so proud sitting next to this handsome young man with the finely made cart and the freshly killed buffalo in the back. She decided, she wanted this young man for a husband, the sooner the better.

When they drove up to her parent’s buffalo, Cougar handed the reins to Hawk’s Cry and jumped out to help Jerome lift the quarters into the cart and then suggested they wash upstream and cook lunch. Her parents somehow understood or at least agreed to follow him to a nice campsite away from the gore and the stench resulting from butchering so many large animals.

The four of them washed at the creek, Jerome told Hawk’s Cry of what a fearless hunter Cougar was and how he shot four animals by riding right next to the buffalo with the reins on his horses neck and riding with just his legs. He said Cougar was just like the hunters of the old days.

Hawk’s Cry listened, but showed none of her parents’ enthusiasm; she seemed to be oblivious to the hunting abilities of Cougar as she pulled up her skirt to expose thighs the color moose hide moccasins and began to wash the blood from her knees and hands. Cougar was watching from such short range that he lost his balance on a slick rock a fell into the swift water. The others laughed and Cougar felt awkward and humiliated. Jerome and his wife suspected that Cougar was smitten with their daughter, and they were excited to see how this ancient dance of love was to be played out.

They decided to set up their teepees and spend the night, then leave early the next morning. They cooked a big feast that night and many people stopped by to congratulate Cougar and thank him for his hunting skills. There were several single girls who looked at Cougar with an appraising eye, but Hawk’s Cry made sure to be sitting next to him throughout the evening and smiling at all the visitors. Cougar felt funny, he wasn’t self-conscious around the other girls and they were much easier to talk with, since it was more common to speak a mixture of French and English rather than the native tongue, but the other girls respected Hawk’s Cry and her claim to the handsome young buffalo killer.

A group of young men came into their camp after dark. It was obvious they had been drinking. They took plates of food without asking, but it was a feast. The leader was loud and belligerent. After taking a few bites he said the buffalo was spoiled and unfit to eat. He broke his plate by throwing it on a stone next to the fire and then turned to smile at Hawk’s Cry as if she might be impressed with his behavior.

Jerome stood up and tried to walk the young man out of the camp, but he pushed Jerome away and pulled a knife and looked at Jerome and then Cougar.

He told them the girl was his and he was going to take her. Cougar jumped to his feet and walked toward his rifle and suddenly felt the razor edge of a skinning knife cut his cheek through to the teeth. The drunken boy drew back to slash again when he was hit above the eye with a good sized rock, thrown by Hawk’s Cry. Cougar started for his rifle again and felt the boy on top of him. He grabbed the boy’s wrist that held the knife and they were locked in mortal combat.

Cougar tripped the boy and they fell. Cougar wrapped both his hands around the boy’s knife hand, took the knife away from him and stood up. The boy stood up and lunged for Cougar’s rifle, but he had no idea how to work the mechanism and when he realized it was hopeless, he swung it like a club at Cougar’s head.

Cougar ducked and jumped forward and cut into the boy’s gut with the knife. He heard air escaping and the foul odor of a bowel being cut open, the boy had his hands around Cougar’s throat and was cutting off Cougar’s air in a last ditch effort to kill him. Cougar aimed the knife upward and thrust it hard toward the boy’s heart. The hot blood squirted all over his fore arm and wet Cougar’s body from the waist down with the hot pulsing liquid, the boy went limp and fell to the ground. He was dead.

Cougar looked at the boy and knew the Red Coats patrolling the country for American whisky sellers would hang him for killing the boy, no matter what the circumstances. The boy’s friends were mounting their horses and soon galloped away into the night.

He had to move fast. Cougar started loading his cart. Jerome talked with his family for a few minutes and started loading his cart. Cougar had his cart loaded and told Jerome in sign language that he was heading south to the United States. Jerome tapped his chest and then pointed his vertical palm south and then pointed with his index finger.

It looked like Cougar was going to have company along for the ride on his bid for freedom. Suddenly, he had an idea. Jerome and the women would take the carts south to Sweetwater Montana and Cougar would head straight for the Glaciers to the South. The Red Coats would track the wagons and if they caught up to the wagons it would be too late to catch him. They would then drive down to the Great Falls and he would meet them there in two weeks.

The communication was all in sign language, for them it was much more accurate than trying to speak in the fragments of several languages.

They left a few moments later: the wagons bound to the Southeast and Cougar in a lope to the South.

Cougar would cross the High River about ten o’clock and then cross the Oldman River before noon. With luck he should cross the border before daylight the next day.

The NWMP detachment sent one man to bring in the killer, Mike Irons or Iron Mike as he was known to the Indians and American Whiskey traders. Most outlaws gave up when they knew Iron Mike was on their trail. He inspired respect and fear in the wild country. He was fair, but if you resisted, Iron Mike shot you before the court could hang you. He was an expert tracker and used to Indians making a run for the border. He was on the trail of the two carts by nine the next morning. It would be easy to run down the two Red River Carts.

The story he heard from the Metis boys didn’t add up, but that wasn’t his problem. That’s what they have courts for, he was just a man hunter and the law west of Medicine Hat. He slowed his pace and tried to piece together the odd story. Young man by himself, old man with beautiful daughter and wife, they are hunting buffalo and camped together. They get two buffalo and a young man comes into their camp and gets butchered.

“Wait a dang minute,” Mike said aloud to himself, “They were supposed to have four horses. There’s only tracks for three.”

He dismounted and walked a circle around the tracks to be sure, “Well, I’ll be, they almost out smarted Iron Mike.”

He rode hard to the southwest looking for a lone track headed straight south.

About ten miles from the border, he picked up a single track. The horse was exhausted and unable to track straight. This had to be him. He came to the border and saw Cougar leading his horse about sixty yards into the US.

“This is Constable Mike Irons of the North West Mounted Police, turn around and come back or I will shoot you dead.”

Mike fired a warning shot and Cougar pulled his rifle from the scabbard and shot Mike’s horse through the heart in less than a second, and then dropped down below a hill and disappeared.

Mike felt fear for the first time in his career, he felt his blood turn cold and he felt himself shaking; he had just looked death in the eye, this young man was a stone cold killer and a deadeye shot.

He took his tack off the dead horse and started the long walk home, feeling lucky to be alive.

Cougar kept his horse walking until they had walked several miles to the east and came to a nice valley with good feed and a creek. He turned his horse loose and laid down to sleep between two rocks. Cougar slept the rest of the day and all through the night. He caught his horse the next morning. The horse was still exhausted and sore. He walked beside his horse, so that the only weight he carried was the saddle. Cougar carried his rifle; he didn’t want to have someone like Iron Mike getting the drop on him again.

After two days of walking beside his horse, the horse seemed to be regaining its strength, but Cougar kept walking, hoping to insure the recovery of his horse.

A few days ago, he had a beautiful cart that was admired by almost everyone in the Metis nation, a possible romance with the most alluring girl he had ever seen, a closeness with a family group he genuinely liked, a buffalo carcass in his wagon, and a good meal in his belly. Now, because a drunk walked into his camp, he could be hanged in Canada, he was on the verge of starvation, and leading a lame horse.

Life’s fortunes can change quickly; especially when you are trying to be someone you aren’t. He was a carpenter with a good business at Fort Edmonton, not a buffalo hunter.

They will be shocked to hear he is wanted for murder. He had a few carpenter tools in the wagon, not much more than the old Swiss carpenter had given him when he was a boy, but they were in his cart and hopefully his cart was in Great Falls.

He met some Indians on the trail. He had never seen Indians like these. There were three of them and they each had human scalps tied to their saddles.

Cougar used sign language to tell them he was Metis from Canada and the Red Coats wanted to hang him for killing a man.

Their faces showed no emotion, until he said a Red Coat was hunting him and wanted to hang him, he then saw a measure of respect emerge from the eyes of these warriors. They asked when he had last seen the Red Coat and he said he had shot his horse two days ago at the border.

The warriors admired his rifle and he thought they might try to kill him for his rifle, but instead they gave him a foot long piece of pemmican. Cougar asked how far to Great Falls and the warriors said it was two more days to walk and he would cross a good trail when he walked through these rocks hills.

He was surprised when they told him they wanted to hunt this Red Coat and they had to leave. The three warriors rode off silently as they followed Cougar’s back trail.

The three warriors were the most dangerous men Cougar had ever seen, but he had learned some valuable lessons: never show fear, and violent men respect men who are capable of violence.

They had treated him well and had even given him food to ward off starvation, but now he had a new problem, his moccasins were worn out after walking over this rocky trail and his feet would soon be bleeding if his horse didn’t overcome his lameness.

Iron Mike cached his tack under a cottonwood and continued on with just his rifle, when the bullet ripped through his thigh and he felt his right boot fill up with blood almost immediately. He looked down to see the pulsing of his blood moving his military issue riding trousers. He knew this would be his last fight.

The rider who shot him now was riding straight towards Mike with a lance aimed for his chest. Mike waited until the horse was only two strides away and sent a bullet through the center of the man’s chest.

The Indian dropped his lance and rode harmlessly by Mike to fall and die a few seconds later. The second rider was charging right behind the first, he fired and missed Mike. Mike drew his revolver and fired three rounds before the last round hit the man in the center of the forehead, rolling him backwards out of the saddle. Mike emptied his revolver at the third rider as the lance tore through his chest, killing him instantly.

The third rider turned his horse to look at the battle scene and the glory that no one would hear ever about at tribal fires. He could hear the air sucking through the hole in his chest as the lung filled with blood and he felt lightheaded while drowning in his own blood.

He thought to himself, “These Red Coats are great warriors,” he raised his hand to appeal to the spirit world and fell from his saddle to die a few minutes later gasping for air.

Cougar rode the last thirty miles into Great Falls and found his people camped upstream on the North side of the river. They greeted him like long lost family and made cooked a feast of buffalo hump roast and potatoes.

Hawk’s Cry traded several roasts for a new pair of over the ankle winter moccasins for Cougar and he was touched by her concern for his welfare.

After dinner that night, Cougar asked Jerome what he planned to do. Jerome said there was free land in Oregon and he thought they could all go there together in the spring. Cougar felt tears come to his eyes at the sense of belonging to a family group. The two men embraced and Cougar told him they would head to Oregon together.

That night, as Cougar was sleeping in his teepee, Hawk’s Cry slipped in between his blankets. At first he thought she was cold, but then he realized she had ideas of her own. He had no idea of what to do, but Hawk’s Cry was an excellent teacher. From that moment on, they communicated in the language of love. The next morning, she moved all her belongings into Cougar’s teepee and they became a couple for the rest of their days.

The winter seemed a magical time for Cougar’s family. He and Hawk’s Cry fell deeper in love with the passage of time. The family had great meals in the evening and Jerome’s family had a quick mind for learning the English of the frontiersmen.

The fur trader of Great Falls paid Cougar a twenty dollar gold piece to build a twenty by twenty log home.

People were amazed at Cougar’s craftsmanship and tried to entice Cougar into staying in the area to build homes, but Cougar wanted to distance himself from his crime in Canada and Oregon, with its free land, seemed like a good idea.

In the spring after the creeks and rivers settled down and were safe to cross, the little family of four, that was soon to be a family of five, set out to the southwest, hopefully to join up with emigrants on the North side of the snake, and continue on to Oregon.

They were on a well-worn trail that had been used for thousands of years by buffalo hunters, but now the trail was busy with miners headed north to the Montana Gold Rush of 1860. The miners were causing resentment among the native people, and there were already incidents of violence.

Cougar’s family avoided the hostility, because they traveled with women and showed respect to the natives they met on the trail.

The trail was an ancient migration route that had served Indians and wildlife for thousands of years as it weaved through the mountain valleys and crossed into the country that was to become Idaho. In Idaho the winds raged and left them exhausted at the end of each day.

They met some Shoshone along a fast, deep river and asked the name of the river. The leader made a wriggling motion with his hand out away from his body several times. In the international language of the Plains Indian, this meant the River of Many Fish.

Jerome and Cougar made sure they traded with the Indians they met. Cougar kept them well supplied with buffalo and elk with his Sharps rifle. Cougar also carved small figures of buffalo, fish, eagles, and horses. The Indians considered them to be sacred talismans and traded valuable goods and camas root for them.

On an early morning during breakfast, Cougar and his family saw five Indian buffalo hunters on horseback chasing a buffalo that bristled from so many arrows stuck in its hide, that he looked like a big speed porcupine; except the bull was much faster than a porcupine and much faster than the exhausted Indian ponies. None of the arrows seemed to be deep or lethal enough to cause the animal to slow down enough to allow them to finish him with their spears.

Cougar pulled his Sharps out of the scabbard and at a distance of two hundred yards, put a 50 caliber round just behind the left shoulder of the running buffalo in mid-stride. In the split second before the front feet hit the ground, the animal lost all control and power in its front legs and collapsed onto his great shaggy head. His momentum caused him to roll on over onto his back after standing on his head for an instant, he bounced on his back and into the air twice before the massive body came to a complete stop. He was dead.

The Indians yelled out some cheers and held their bows in the air and then rode over to the dead bull and attacked the still bleeding carcass like wolves. While Cougar’s family began to break camp, they noticed the Indians cutting off long portions of the gut and squeezing out the contents from one end and eating the intestine from the other end. Another Indian was eating the heart and still another was eating from a huge chunk of raw liver.

Jerome laid his hand on Cougar’s shoulder and said in a mixture of languages and sign, “They are starving. Their bodies tell them to eat the most nutritious organs first; this is what starvation looks like. You are a good provider my son; otherwise, we might be in the same condition.”

The scene had a profound effect on Cougar, and he vowed to never allow his wife or her parents to ever go hungry.

They passed near the carcass and the Indians waved them over. There were five of them and they had the bull cut up and divided into six equal piles on the hide. The Indians loaded one of the piles into the two carts along with the huge tongue as a measure of appreciation. They each rode up to Cougar and touched him with their hands and bows to try and share in his uncanny accuracy with the rifle.

Cougar reached under the seat and gave each of them a small wooden talisman and for the young chief, Bull Calf, he placed a buffalo carving, about half the size of a fist with a small hole drilled through its back and suspended from a leather thong, around his neck.

It was this small act of kindness that insured the legacy of Cougar and their safety. The Blackfeet were in a famine and Cougar broke the famine. He later gave the hunters talismans and they all had great success from that point forward. Cougar was given a status of protection until they passed into Oregon and later on the protection was extended to Colonel Fallon’s wagon train. He was considered to be a shaman and a legend among Indians of the Northwest.

The word spread by moccasin telegraph of the Metis from Canada with the repeating rifle who never needed a second shot, who was a shaman who carved animal spirits from wood that gave hunters and warriors extra spiritual guidance. Thus many Indians were willing to travel for days to get a buffalo or elk carving that would enhance their hunting skills.

Whether there was actually magic in the carvings is debatable, but the results were never in dispute, for the Blackfoot nation once again regained their hunting luck and the tribe began eating well. To the mind of a stone-age man, Cougar was the man who changed their luck, many gamblers of modern cultures blame lesser objects for good luck or bad. Perhaps Cougar gave them the confidence they needed or maybe there was magic in his carvings, the main thing was that the people were no longer starving and they gave the credit to Cougar.

Cougar had heard the miners speak of the Snake River and how treacherous it was, but if it was more treacherous than the River of Many Fish, it must be an extremely dangerous river, it was at that moment, he realized the problem. The Whites were interpreting the wavy hand-signal as the symbol for a Snake, when it was actually the symbol for many fish. This was a great relief and he quit looking for a ford. He could now follow the Snake on the North bank and join up with a wagon train on this side or he could meet a wagon train on the north side of the Three Island Crossing.

As they traveled on the plateaus of the North Snake, they were accepted without the hostility and animosity that was building because of the increased traffic of miners and emigrants. The Indians were intrigued by these mixed bloods, who were fluent in sign and traveling in these amazing carts. They came to trade salmon and flint knives for amulets carved by Cougar. The carved salmon, buffalo, horses, and eagles were the most popular.

Cougar’s group came to the Three Island Crossing and he did a brisk business repairing damaged wagons. He passed up opportunities to travel with different groups because he felt there was a need to wait for the right wagon train.

Jerome had learned to trust the instincts of Cougar, and even though he wanted to go on to Oregon, he trusted Cougar’s judgment.

When Cougar saw Colonel Fallon with his cavalry hat, he knew that this was the group he was supposed to pair up with. He stood by on the bank and watched helplessly while Captain Levin drowned, but when his body was recovered along with the wreckage of his wagon, he started building the Captain a casket from the wreck of the wagon.

Colonel Fallon was astounded at the speed and accuracy that the young man used to create the dove tail corners and mortise and tenon top and bottom.

After the little ceremony, Cougar asked the Colonel for permission to join the wagon train. He told him he comes with his own Blackfeet escort that will follow them to Oregon and make sure they will not lose stock to horse thieves and they will not be attacked.

The Colonel was suspicious, but Cougar told him he was regarded as a type of shaman and the Blackfeet had sworn to protect him as long as he was in their territory.

The Colonel called over Mr. Tomlin to translate for him since there was a combination of languages and the Colonel wasn’t sure of the message. Mr Tomlin and Cougar talked in sign and then Cougar turned to call in the Blackfoot chief with the buffalo carving, and he and Mr. Tomin engaged in several minutes of parley in sign.

“Colonel, we best take this young Metis, Cougar is his name, with us. He is the best insurance policy we can have. Anyone who tries to hurt him will die by the hand of these hostiles. They rarely like each other, but Cougar kept their tribe from starving and they figure he is pretty special. We better take him and be glad he wants to travel with us.”

The Colonel was surprised at Mr. Tomlin’s candor and trust. He turned to look Cougar in the eye and said to Mr. Tomlin, “Tell him we try to make fifteen to twenty miles a day and he and his father-in-law will be expected to keep up and pitch in with camp chores.”

Mr. Tomlin used sign to translate the message and Cougar broke into a big grin and replied in sign.

Mr. Tomlin looked at the Colonel and said, “He says the two carts can easily make fifty miles a day and he is an excellent hunter and marksman, if we need meat.”

“He’ll make friends fast if he can bring a buffalo into camp,” the Colonel told Mr. Tomlin.

Cougar laughed grabbed his rifle and said something to his wife in the native language and jumped on his horse to ride off with the Blackfeet.

Later on that afternoon, Cougar returned and the two carts headed North and returned close to dark with half a buffalo in each cart. Some of the wagon train members came to him with tears in their eyes to thank him for the fresh meat; many of them had been living on fry bread and a few bits of smoked salmon they had traded the last of their silver coins for.

Cougar had made friends once again.

Epilogue: This is a novel with a degree of historical accuracy. The characters are fictional; their struggles are real and based heavily on the author’s experiences in the wild country.

It’s the timing Mr President, when you come out with the Iranian Amateur Hour version of a terror attack within hours of your Attorney General being served with a subpoena, it’s no wonder people are a little, no, make that a lot, skeptical. Was the attack so imminent or so dangerous that it was imperative that it be released at precisely that instant or was it an effort to show how diligent your Attorney General is, the same one who sells advanced military grade weapons to Mexican Drug Cartels for no apparent or logical reason, weapons that have so far been instrumental in the killing of two federal agents and probably used in the commission of hundreds of deaths of Mexican nationals in Mexico. The same weapons that will probably be used in countless attacks and murders on both sides of the border for decades in the future. Are we supposed to believe that this same Attorney General is instrumental in rounding up an Iranian American, who was recruiting Mexican henchmen from the drug cartels to act as terrorists for the Iranians.

Yes, it’s no wonder people are looking a little fish eyed at your accusations and doubt your ability and that of your Attorney General, the one who neglected to notice multiple briefs on Fast and Furious, briefs that were addressed to him, the same one that is beginning to look like an accessory to murder.

Is it no wonder that you don’t even have the true believers hanging on every word in worshipful praise and thanks as you pronounce “toughest sanctions” against Iran for the imminent threat of a used car salesman planning an attack on the Saudi ambassador to the US.

Iran scoffs at the accusation and many in the US are more than a little doubtful Mr President, timing is important and your timing was a little too obvious; otherwise, you would not need to justify your claims, like this one explaining how American officials knew:

“know that he had direct links, was paid by, and directed by individuals in the Iranian government.”

“Now those facts are there for all to see. We would not be bringing forward a case unless we knew exactly how to support all the allegations that are contained in the indictment.”

You are a little too obvious in your defense when you say, “We would not be bringing forward a case, unless we knew exactly how to support the allegations…”, it’s integrity Mr president, you have lost your integrity. The American public and the world no longer trusts you or your Attorney General.

Susan Rice will obviously strike fear into the heart of Iran, but your State Department spokesperson, Ms Victoria Nuland confirms many American doubts when she roars like a lioness with this line:

“When you look at these details, it seems like something out of a movie. But as you begin to give more detail on what we knew and when we knew it and how we knew it, it has credibility.”

So it has credibility! You can’t get more authentic than that Mr President. Unfortunately, like the pregnant teenager in junior high school, you might be all alone in the international community in your condemnation of Iran.

So you have laid out all the facts of a deranged used car salesmen acting as international terror brokers for international leaders and so far, you have yourself convinced:

“We’ve laid the facts before them, and we believe that after people have analyzed them, there will not be a dispute that this is in fact what happened.”

Our ally Britain, whom you have ignored and insulted in the past, offered this bit of anemic support from the British foreign secretary, William Hague by saying on record that the incident:

“would appear to constitute a major escalation in Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism outside its borders. He added that the British government was “in close touch with the U.S. authorities and will work to agree an international response, along with the U.S., the rest of the E.U. and Saudi Arabia.”

We can see that the British have expressed their outrage, to be expressed further if it turns out that anyone else believes the accusations. Of course it is pretty serious if a rogue nation is sponsoring terrorism outside its borders with a covert used car salesmen.

From the Saudi foreign minister:

“this dastardly act reflects the policies of Iran.” The Saudi government has not yet decided whether to withdraw its ambassador from Tehran in protest, he said.

Oh my, how serious does it get if the Saudis can’t decide whether to withdraw their ambassador from Tehran.

You have brought this upon yourself Mr President. You have indirectly brought about feelings of indifference and apathy from Americans and the international community. You have essentially made yourself into a lame duck president and people are only counting the days until a new president can be sworn in. A year of campaigning and cheap theatrics like this will only deepen the public’s distrust in you and your administration. It is probably best if you try to tread water while trying not to make waves. In that way you may improve your image slightly, rather than creating more animosity in this country and the world.

The US has almost no business dealings with Iran, other countries make massive amounts of money by trading with Iran. Is it no wonder that the rest of the world will be looking at your latest B-Movie plot with skepticism. They don’t believe you Mr President, the Amateur Hour is almost over.

Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and Greece are all vulnerable to default

Europeans are underwhelmed with the latest Obama Drama. With the sanctimonious attitude of a faux professor, Obama lectured Europeans on the importance of restoring fiscal responsibility to the European Union.

As humorous as it sounds, the Europeans found nothing to laugh about; in fact, they are insulted and indignant over the presumption of a profligate wastrel like Obama lecturing anyone concerning fiscal responsibility.

In California on Monday the 26th Obama warned the Europeans about their debt, stating that the European inaction was:

scaring the world. (That they)…have not fully healed from the crisis back in 2007 and never fully dealt with all the challenges that their banking system faced. It’s now being compounded by what’s happening in Greece. They’re going through a financial crisis that is scaring the world, and they’re trying to take responsible actions, but those actions haven’t been quite as quick as they need to be.

The Europeans feel he is merely searching for another scapegoat to pin his own failures upon for the Americans to whom he was pandering for donations for his reelection campaign.

Geitner added to his own cartoonish caricature at the annual meeting of the International Money Fund and the World Bank by warning that the European debt crisis is:

the most serious risk now confronting the world economy. He said Europeans needed to do more to create a “firewall” against further contagion and talked of the threat of “cascading default” and runs on banks. “Decisions as to how to conclusively address the region’s problems cannot wait until the crisis gets more severe.”

Germans reacted angrily to Geitner’s arcane remarks by replying that the US is in no position to offer advice with its $14 trillion national debt.

Unfortunately, European leaders urged Obama to find a solution during the debt ceiling crisis earlier this year, but by Wednesday the German press was ridiculing Obama and Geitner. The mass-circulation Bild wrote:

“Obama’s lecture on the euro crisis … is overbearing, arrogant and absurd. … In a nutshell, he is claiming that Europe is to blame for the current financial crisis, which is ‘scaring the world.’ Excuse me?”

“The American president seems to have forgotten a few details. The most important trigger of the financial and economic crisis was US banks and their insane real-estate dealings. The US is still piling up debt … The American congress is crippled by a battle between the right and the left. The banks are gambling just as recklessly as they did before the crisis. The president’s scolding is a pathetic attempt to distract attention from his own failures. How embarrassing.”

From the center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung:

“One needs to remember the context within which Obama’s scolding of the Europeans took place. It was an event where the president was raising money for the Democrats and where he wanted to explain to voters why the US economy is much worse off than he and his economic experts had believed until recently. Hence his criticism of the EU was simple electioneering.”

“The problem, however, is that the US president is absolutely right. For far too long, the Europeans — including the Germans — treated the financial crisis as a purely American problem. They have still found no solution for their own debt crisis. Now Europe’s problems are having a negative impact on growth and jobs around the world, including in the US. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Europe is threatening Obama’s already precarious chances of reelection in 2012. That is something that surely does not leave Obama cold. In that respect, it doesn’t help much to point out that, once the Europeans have got their house in order, the financial markets will return their attention to America’s debt crisis and its ailing political system. Financially, Europe is currently the most dangerous place in the world.”

From the center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung:

“Dark clouds have gathered over the American president. The gloomy state of the economy is putting a dampener on Obama’s future prospects. The optimism of the past is gone, replaced by a cheap search for a scapegoat.”

“Obama thinks he has found one. He blames the Europeans for reacting too late to the debt crisis. We Europeans are apparently taking on too little new debt to get out of the crisis. But we are already feeling the wonderful effects of borrowing too much money.”

The Obama Myth has crashed and burned in Europe. They have seen through the hope and hype, while realizing the inane ineptness of our Narcissistic Socialist Ideologue who is to dense to realize that none of his plans or policies have worked. The only ones who still believe the empty phrases and platitudes are Leftist Ideologues and the feeble minded, but even the Socialist ideologues of Europe realize the incompetence of Obama.

European leaders realize the gravity of the situation without help from an economic illiterate

Ahab Follows His Obsession To The Inevitable Conclusion

The Marxist Demon Within

In following with the Cloward Piven Plan for overwhelming America with entitlement spending and utilizing “The Weight of The Poor” to crush the American economy, a plan that is much more critical and potentially catastrophic at a time when America is in the depths of a disastrous recession, Obama seeks only to soothe the raging demon residing deep within his DNA. The raging demon within his DNA is Marxism and it seeks to destroy the Capitalism within the country he is sworn to protect and defend.

There is confusion with the terms Communism and Socialism and the modern use has little relationship to the original meanings defined by Marx and refined by Anthony Gramsci. It is probably best to rely on the early intellect of Marx and Gramsci for a useable definition of the terms, since modern definitions will vary widely.

Marx wrote that Socialism was an intermediate phase of the revolution of the proletariat that had to incorporate features of Capitalism, mainly using reward incentives to induce people to work; otherwise, the means of production and capital will be expropriated by the Proletariat.

Communism, as defined by Marx, emerges from a group of Socialist economies. The Communist economy will differ from the Socialist economy by an absence of motivation or rewards to encourage people to work. Social classes would dissolve, people would receive goods as required by their need and contribute according to their ability. The state withers away and a utopian society is left and everyone is happy; especially the elites who oversee the system.

Expropriating The Means Of Production

A characteristic of Capitalism that exasperates the Socialist is that the means of production or capital is controlled by the bourgeoisie class. It is the chief objective of a Socialist revolutionary to seize the means of production and Redistribute the wealth of a Capitalist economy. President Obama faces this problem of expropriation in a free society through Wealth Redistribution and the seizure of corporations on the verge of failure.

Anthony Gramsci is arguably the greatest intellect of Marxism. He was a prolific writer and had a tremendous effect of the theory of Marxism. His ideas of hegemony will help to define the direction of modern Socialists and Communists. Hegemony was a term used by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin to designate or indicate the political leadership of the Proletariat in a democratic revolution. Gramsci later used the term to describe why the inevitable revolution of the Proletariat, predicted by Marx had failed to materialize in the early 20th century.

Gramsci stressed that Capitalism maintained control through violence, political, and economic coercion; however, in ideological terms Capitalists maintained control through a hegemonic system, reenforcing the values of the bourgeoisie by stressing the ‘common sense’ values of a modern thinking man. A culture evolved that encouraged the Proletariat to identify their fortune and welfare with the fortune and welfare of the bourgeoisie; consequently, the Capitalist culture protected the prominence of the bourgeoisie and kept the Proletariat from revolution through the logic of ‘common sense’.

Gramsci felt that hegemonic dominance relied on coercion by consent; however, in a “crisis of authority” the protection of consent slips away revealing the Machiavellian fist of force.

Modern Marxists

Obama’s Machiavellian princely characters representing the fist of force are his trade unionists and ACORN activists, they are his political army.

Saul Alinsky, union organizer and mentor for Hillary Clinton, is the Communist who denied being a Communist for the same reason Obama denies being a Socialist; they don’t want the stigmatism attached with these Marxist ideologies and they will limit their potential for support if they expose the true nature of their political ideology. Alinsky wrote a practical guide to put the theories of Marx and Gramsci to practical use. Alinsky’s “Rules For Radicals” has been the handbook for revolutionaries and trade unionists for decades.

Cloward and Piven, both university professors gave Alinsky’s work an intellectual standing and concepts that could be embraced by more literate revolutionaries. Thus we have a brief synopsis of the evolution and history of Marxism and its progression to the White House.

Obama’s years as a Community Organizer employed the concepts of Alinsky and his political red shirts are still using these methods. Obama’s covert agenda creates even more frustration within his soul because he is prevented from declaring his affection for Marxism.

Guided with a foreign ideology for motivation (Marxism is more readily accepted as an alternative government in Europe), Obama is incapable of seeing another set of possibilities for approaching the debt ceiling problem.

The obsession that drives Obama’s personal demon is the destruction of ‘Capitalism’ this obsession takes precedence over the vitality of the country: like Ahab’s obsession with the white whale, Moby Dick took precedence over the mission of the Pequod and its crew. An obsession can overwhelm people until it is an addiction. Addictions are typically strong enough to destroy the host and the host is willing to destroy everyone and everything around him to satisfy his addiction and soothe the personal demon that lurks in his heart.

It is impossible for Obama to see ending or reforming any part of entitlement or deficit spending; as in the fictional example of Captain Ahab, his psychosis drives him to the point that nothing matters except the destruction of the whale or Capitalism.

America or the ship of state is of secondary importance to Obama it is but a means to accomplish a goal; his Marxist ideology is the defining force of his governance and is the focal point of his administration.

We All Struggle With Personal Demons

We who walk the earth struggle with personal demons throughout our lives, if the demons develop obsessions, we are then consumed by strange passions that control and ultimately destroy our lives and those around us.

Ahab and Obama Battle Personal Demons

In Melville’s Moby Dick, Captain Ahab is consumed with his obsession to kill the White Whale, Moby Dick. His inner demon is pure madness and vengeance. Obama, by not recognizing his personal failures and the failures of his policies, is displaying signs of a mental imbalance: consumed with Narcissism, driven by an obsession with Capitalism, and the inner demon of Marxism, he is not capable of seeing alternatives or making rational decisions. The mental imbalance within both Ahab and Obama becomes or was more apparent as their voyages progress. Obama’s Presidency and Ahab’s voyages were both scheduled to last four years.

Ahab in his madness was consumed completely, he destroyed himself, his ship the Pequod, and his men except for Ishmael, who lived to recount the tale.

Obama, is overwhelmed and consumed with his mission, and America’s Capitalism is his evil incarnate White Whale. His thoughts of the welfare of the country, our people, and our economy are not considered, just like Captain Ahab’s thoughts for his ship and men were not registering. Our Ship of State seems to have no one at the helm, while Obama ignores threats of Terrorism and announces measures that are obviously counter productive to the economic well being of a national economy.

Of course both men are/were familiar with the evil that is their obsession, the whale took Ahab’s leg off in a previous battle and had wrecked multiple ships and killed many men of the whaling fleets: Obama was raised in the midst of Marxists just after the proponents of an evil Marxism killed over a hundred million in the mid-twentieth century. The symptoms of madness were obvious with Ahab, he instilled fear with his madness. The madness of Obama is more of an effeminate madness that instills fear in no one, except for those who fear the damage he is creating.

An Obsession Becomes Madness

This is a passage from Moby Dick, First Mate Starbuck informs Captain Ahab of a leaky cask of Sperm oil they must repair or suffer massive lost profits, while Ahab broods over Global Warming and Health care for the masses, oh excuse me, the White Whale Moby Dick.

Starbuck knocks on Captain Ahab’s cain door.

Ahab: Who’s there! On Deck! Begone!

Starbuck: Captain Ahab mistakes; it is I. The oil in the hold is leaking, sir. We must up Burtons and break out. (Hoist the tackle and lift the large casks of valuable Sperm oil from the hold to repair the leaks)

Ahab: Up Burtons and break out? Now that we are nearing Japan; heave-to for a week and tinker with a parcel of old hoops?

Starbuck: Either do that sir or waste more oil in a day than we make good in a year. What we come twenty-thousand miles to get is worth saving, sir. (First Mate Starbuck is Ahab’s most loyal of all the crew and asks Ahab to save the ship’s treasure.)

Ahab: So it is, so it is, if we get it. (Ahab considers Moby Dick or the dismantling of Capitalism for Obama, to be the purpose of their mission, the treasure within the hold is inconsequential compared to his real goal.)

Starbuck: I was speaking of the oil in the hold sir.

Ahab: “And I was not speaking or thinking of that at all. Begone! Let it leak! I’m all aleak myself. Aye! Leak in leaks! Not only full of leaky casks, but those leaky casks are in a leaky ship; and that’s a far worse plight than the Pequod’s, man. Yet, I don’t stop to plug my leak; for who can find it in the deep loaded hull; or how hope to plug it, even if found, in this life’s howling gale? Starbuck! I’ll not have the Burtons hoisted.” (Ahab is referring to the madness and sickness of his own soul, he wrestles with the demon inside him: Obama doesn’t have the capability to know his sickness, nor the morals to try and defeat it)

Starbuck: “What will the owners say, sir?” (In this case the owners are the American taxpayers who support the government of the ship of state.)

Ahab: “Let the owners stand on Nantucket beach and outyell the typhoons. What cares Ahab? Owners, owners? Thou art always prating to me, Starbuck, about those miserly owners, as if those owners were my conscience. But look ye, the only real owner of anything is its commander; and hark ye, my conscience is in this ship’s keel. On deck!” (Ahab reveals the madness of his Narcissism and his personal demons. He no longer feels responsible to the owners or the taxpayers, they no longer matter. His obsession with the white whale or Socialism is his only consideration.)

Starbuck: “Captain Ahab,” said the reddening mate, moving further into the cabin, with a daring so strangely respectful and cautious that it almost seemed not only every way seeking to avoid the slightest outward manifestation of itself; “A better man than I might well pass over thee what he would quickly enough resent in a younger man; aye, and in a happier, Captain Ahab.” (Starbuck tries to reason with his Captain for whom he has so much respect.”

Ahab: “Devils! Dost thou then so much as dare to critically think of me? On Deck!” Ahab is so consumed in his madness that he cannot stand to have the slightest hint at questioning his judgement or authority, much like our own president.)

Starbuck: “Nay, sir, not yet; I do entreat. And I do dare, sir- to be for-bearing. Shall we not understand each other better than hithero, Captain Ahab?” (With the utmost respect, Starbuck begs Ahab to reconsider.)

Ahab sizes a loaded musket from the rack.

Ahab: There is One God that is Lord over the earth, and one Captain that is Lord over the Pequod. On Deck! (Our leader asserts his authority in terms that leave no room for debate.”

Starbuck is shocked.

Starbuck: Thou has outraged, not insulted me, sir; but for that I ask thee not to beware of Starbuck; thou wouldst laugh; but let Ahab beware of Ahab; beware of thyself old man. (Starbuck warns Ahab to beware not of Starbuck, but to beware of Ahab, for he is his own enemy. In modern terms, Obama and his obsession has been his own worst enemy.)

Although most people remember Gregory Peck playing Ahab in all his insane glory, but it is easy to imagine a soothsayer or a Starbuck telling Obama to let Obama beware of Obama, beware of thyself young man.

“And I alone am escaped alone to tell thee” —-Job

The mundane and tedious tasks of the office are of little interest to our president; nay, his goal is but to advance the precepts of Marxism at the cost of everything and everyone.

Machiavelli: The end justifies the means

Warning: Don’t read if you have a weak stomach or you are easily offended.

Casey Pantomimes Like A Petulant Child upon Learning She Must Stay In Prison A Few More Days

America died with Caylee Anthony, not literally, but we will never be the same. A Narcissistic mother forgets to report her daughter missing, decides to party for a month and get a tattoo that reads “Beautiful Life,” while her daughter decomposes in a plastic sack. Is this the sign of a mad woman; perhaps it is a desensitizing to the ideal of a mother’s right to choose or what we should celebrate as our culture of death. Ms Anthony has spent the last four years in jail, but if she would have elected to have a partial birth abortion and had her daughter’s brain sucked out while being born, there would have been no issue.

Twenty-four plus months of indecision separated Ms Anthony from being without blame and spending years in prison with the possibility of execution. If she killed her daughter in order to party without the inconvenience of caring for a toddler, she waited too long to make up her mind. However, it appeared as though she enjoyed the media attention; but a partial birth abortion (now illegal) doesn’t put you on everyone’s TV screen and in the tabloids. Thus in the illogic reasoning of a Narcissist, the jail time may have been an inconvenience, but altogether necessary to achieve ever elusive fame. Even now that it is over, she will need to be under guard to be protected from the angry mob. It is like being a celebrity or a member of the First Family, at least in the mind of a psychopath.

Now we have a precedent for mothers who grow tired of their young children, since they are here on approval whether for a few months or a few weeks in the uterus, why not extend the period. Let’s say you can opt out for an abortion at say two years as long as it can’t be determined how the child died or probable cause can’t be shown. What mother wants to harm their child, well if the child prevents her from enjoying the life of a liberated female with the freedom to choose, there may be thousands. Of course this is an arbitrary probationary period, perhaps we should make the cut off period three years or even five years. That would be long enough to either establish bonding or let the mother decide whether she is really ready to take care of the walking fetus. Yes, until they start school, they should now be called walking fetuses. That way the public and family will realize the mother is still in deliberation as to whether she wants to abort the walking fetus.

Perhaps naming the walking fetus is a mistake. Potential mothers never name their fetuses they are about to abort nor does anyone attach a name to a bowel movement. It helps to be practical in these matters and to distinguish from late term abortion and infanticide. Abortion is legal: infanticide can have dire consequences. This can all be avoided if we just increase the period for late term abortions to three years of age. Threats of abortion can also be used to handle behavioral problems in two year olds. What child wont do better at the thought of duct tape over the mouth and being stuffed in a plastic sack and thrown into a swamp. A heart sticker attached to the duct tape is a nice motherly touch, before aborting a walking fetus to a swamp.

Unfortunately for Ms Anthony, she will never enjoy the freedom she so desperately needed. Her life as a care free liberated female with choices are over. She is hated by the world and will never know the freedom that her daughter’s death was supposed to bring. May her life be a living Hell.

Modern AK 47 With Folding Butt Stock

Attorney General Eric Holder admitted and boasted about operation “Gun Runner” on April 2, 2009 to Mexican officials in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Last week, our administration launched a major new effort to break the backs of the cartels. My department is committing 100 new ATF personnel to the Southwest border in the next 100 days to supplement our ongoing Project Gunrunner, DEA is adding 16 new positions on the border, as well as mobile enforcement teams, and the FBI is creating a new intelligence group focusing on kidnapping and extortion.

Holder now has subjective memory loss and denies any knowledge of “Gun Runner” AKA “Fast and Furious”. Supposedly, the illegal operation was set up straw men to buy military weapons for Mexican drug cartels and trace the guns back to Mexico to make apprehensions, money was even given to the straw men to buy the weapons. There was no tracking of the weapons or apprehensions of suspects. It is logical to assume that the real intent was to provide the weaponry on the border to invoke chaos and provide reasons for invoking tighter gun control laws. The weapons were used in Mexico in countless murders and in the murder of two federal agents in the US. Again it has become very convenient for Holder to forget all about operation “Gun Runner”; especially, now that he is implicated in the murder of two federal agents on the border by approving the operation that provided the weaponry that killed the agents while insisting that federal border agents fire bean bag bullets at drug runners and murderers.

50 Cal Sniper Rifle Sold To Mexican Cartels

Acting ATF Director Melson’s 4th of July testimony to Senator Charles Grassley and Representative Darrel Issa added fireworks to a government coverup what appears to be the biggest government scandal in 50 years. Melson testified:

“Justice Department officials sought to limit and control his communications with Congress.” Moreover, when he saw the storm clouds rising and attempted to reassign “every major official involved” in Operation “Fast and Furious,” Melson said “Justice Department officials directed him and other ATF officials to not communicate to Congress the reasoning behind the reassignments.”

AK 47 With Grenade Launcher

We are now recovering the weapons at crime scenes along with the bodies of victims.

Let Him Hang

In 1994, a sixteen year old girl was brutally raped and murdered by having her head smashed in with a thirty to forty pound piece of asphalt, her killer is finally due to be executed tonight in Texas; President Obama is pleading for this monster’s life by asking the Supreme Court to grant a stay of execution, alleging the killer, another illegal alien, wasn’t granted consular access to the Mexican Embassy. In this new world of Obama Law, Terrorists are to be granted the rights of an American citizen and illegal aliens have more rights than an American citizen.

Humberto Leal is the 38 year old illegal alien that has Obama acting like an ACLU lawyer. Obama wants a stay so that congress can consider a law that will require court reviews of cases of condemned foreign nationals who did not receive advice from their consulates. President Obama maintains that the case will affect not only foreign nationals, but Americans arrested in foreign countries. Prosectors insist the president’s entreaties are an attempt to delay the execution and that the future legislation is bound to fail.

Leal left the nude sixteen year old’s body impaled with a stick and the head caved in; he arrived home bloody and told his brother he had killed a girl. The Mexican government maintains that if Leal had been given access to consular assistance, he would have never been convicted or received the death penalty, so powerful is their influence with the American government.

Leal moved to the U.S. as a toddler with his family from Monterey. His appeals contend that under an international treaty that Texas didn’t sign, that police didn’t advise him that he could have had access to consular assistance and that would have strengthened his defense.

The argument is not new, Texas is very proficient at executing foreign nationals or illegal aliens who commit heinous crimes in Texas.

Leal’s appeals have focused on legislation introduced in the Senate by D. Patrick Leahy, that would impose the rules of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations regarding the arrest of foreign nationals, ensuring court reviews for condemned foreign nationals to determine if consular assistance would have made a significant difference in their verdicts.

In the tradition of the Skippy Gates affair that ended in a beer summit, the Obama Administration took the unusual step of interfering in a state murder case by asking the high court to halt an execution.

Sandra Babcock, a Northwestern University law professor and one of Leal’s lawyers:

“The legislation would give Mr. Leal an opportunity to demonstrate that with consular assistance, he likely would not have been convicted, let alone sentenced to death.”

Even though the savage rape and murder happened two decades ago, the Mexican government contends that the execution should be delayed to give them time to review the case. They also implied a veiled threat by intimating that the execution could imperil Americans detained abroad.

Legislation similar to that required by Leal has failed twice in congressional sessions. The Texas Attorney General’s office cites those failures:

“legislative relief was not likely to be forthcoming.”

Stephen Hoffman, assistant attorney general:

“At this point, it is clear that Leal is attempting to avoid execution by overwhelming the state and the courts with as many meritless lawsuits and motions as humanly possible.”

Prosecutors said Sauceda was drunk and high on cocaine the night she was killed, and that Leal offered to take her home. Witnesses said Leal drove off with her around 5 a.m. Some partygoers found her brutalized nude body later that morning and called police.

There was evidence Sauceda had been bitten, strangled and raped. A large stick that had a screw protruding from it was left in her body.

A witness testified that Leal’s brother appeared at the party, agitated that Leal had arrived home bloody and saying he had killed a girl.

In his first statement to police, Leal said Sauceda bolted from his car and ran off. After he was told his brother had given detectives a statement, he changed his story, saying Sauceda attacked him and fell to the ground after he fought back. He said when he couldn’t wake her and saw bubbles in her nose, he got scared and went home.

Testifying during his trial’s punishment phase, Leal acknowledged being intoxicated and doing wrong but said he wasn’t responsible for what prosecutors alleged. A psychiatrist testified Leal suffered from alcohol dependence and pathological intoxication.

Sauceda’s mother, Rachel Terry, told San Antonio television station KSAT her family already had suffered too long.

“A technicality doesn’t give anyone a right to come to this country and rape, torture and murder anyone,” she said.

George Bush, in 2005, agreed with an International Court ruling that Leal and 50 other Mexican nationals were entitled to new U.S. hearings if their consular rights were violated. The Supreme Court later overruled Bush.

President Obama should find less despicable characters to promote placing the sovereignty of US courts under international control. Texas will hopefully be able to maintain its conservative principles despite an ever increasing illegal alien invasion from Mexico that will surely be influencing the political situation in the years to come. Placing the Texas and the other state court systems under the review of national court systems is a method of control that Obama has been advocating as a means to weaken America and to bring America under the influence and control of the UN and international courts so that sovereignty and power can be slowly diminished.

Like Previous Marxist Leaders, Obama Appreciates Scorched Earth Policy

We are now engaged in another great illegal war, this one is in Yemen; relax, we are only killing Al Qaeda operatives and civilians, since Obama was elected with a 6% landslide margin and has the unflinching support of American Socialists, he is not bound by the usual rules that govern presidents. The war is classified so only the readers of the New York Times and Flopping Aces know about it; however, the relatives of civilians killed in the kinetic actions have probably put the pieces together. We are striking at militant leaders with armed drones and fighter jets, so in Obama’s unique definition of war and Nobel Peace Prize qualification, it narrowly misses being designated as a war, there is also a growing power vacuum in a nation we consider to be an ally.

Yemeni troops are battling militant troops of Al Qaeda for control of the country, Obama sees the use of American firepower as an option for keeping the same militants he has helped to gain power in other oil rich Middle Eastern Countries from gaining power. Obama realizes he alone must employ a discriminating and at times prejudicial sense of judgement to designate which tyrants should stay in power and which ones should yield to Al Qaeda.

Democrats have given their tacit approval of Obama’s gunboat or airstrike diplomacy because he has the much heralded but difficult to define superior intelligence to conduct rogue wars and assassinations of enemies and American citizens with style and aplomb so characteristic of Liberal hypocrisy. Its true they would have incited their witless legions to riot if these same acts of barbarism had been committed by a Republican, but they have a committed Marxist in the White House and questioning the Party Line or the Revolution is counter revolutionary.

These latest strikes come after strikes were halted a year ago as a result of poor intelligence that resulted in significant civilian deaths and bungled missions that were complicating the goals of Obama’s objectives, if we are to assume he actually has predefined objectives, like his intelligence he plays his cards close to his chest.

Officials in Washington acknowledged that American and Saudi spies have been receiving more intel from electronic eavesdropping and informants, but they admitted that the information could be programmed and manipulated to provide strikes against rival factions, those militants can prove to be real rascals.

An anonymous Pentagon official confirmed that using airstrikes and drones is complicated because Al Qaeda operatives mingle with other rebels and antigovernment militants, thus making it difficult for Obama to send his death from the sky without appearing as if he taking sides.

The American campaign in Yemen is led by the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations Command, and is closely coordinated with the Central Intelligence Agency. Teams of American military and intelligence operatives have a command post in Sana, the Yemeni capital, to track intelligence about militants in Yemen and plot future strikes.

Concerned that support for the campaign could wane if the government of Yemen’s authoritarian president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, were to fall, the United States ambassador in Yemen has met recently with leaders of the opposition, partly to make the case for continuing American operations. Officials in Washington said that opposition leaders have told the ambassador, Gerald M. Feierstein, that operations against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula should continue regardless of who wins the power struggle in Sana.

The extent of America’s war in Yemen has been among the Obama administration’s most closely guarded secrets, as officials worried that news of unilateral American operations could undermine Mr. Saleh’s tenuous grip on power. Mr. Saleh authorized American missions in Yemen in 2009, but placed limits on their scope and has said publicly that all military operations had been conducted by his own troops.

American air strikes that kill civilians continue to complicate the situation; particularly, since there is no declared war or reason for the air strikes, especially for the civilians being killed and their relatives. There is always the chance of retaliation by those who feel as if their lives have been adversely affected by the death of loved ones by a trigger happy Obama.

“We’ve seen the regime move its assets away from counterterrorism and toward its own survival,” said Christopher Boucek, a Yemen expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “But as things get more and more chaotic in Yemen, the space for the Americans to operate in gets bigger,” he said.

But Mr. Boucek and others warned of a backlash from the American airstrikes, which over the past two years have killed civilians and Yemeni government officials. The benefits of killing one or two Qaeda-linked militants, he said, could be entirely eroded if airstrikes kill civilians and lead dozens of others to jihad.

Edmund J. Hull, ambassador to Yemen from 2001 to 2004 and the author of “High-Value Target: Countering Al Qaeda in Yemen,” called airstrikes a “necessary tool” but said that the United States had to “avoid collateral casualties or we will turn the tribes against us.”

Obama’s policy of consulting advisors and bureaucrats that are less intelligent than him seems to be one of the more consistent features of his administration.

The Yemeni experts seem to be at least as knowledgeable as the most intelligent President, who has yet to provide any indications of his superior intelligence.

Apparently, Weiner’s sanctimonious piety and his use of the universal defense of Liberals as a victim is all a ruse. Another woman has come forward with emails and intimate photos from a “consensual online romance”. Is the Wiener done or is he willing to be grilled even more. His buns are being burned as you read these lines. There is only so much heat a Weiner can take.

A new woman has come forward with what she claims are photographs, chats, and emails with Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY). These appear to undermine severely Rep. Weiner’s explanations that he was the victim of a “prank” or a “hack.”

The detailed new information suggests that the Brooklyn- and Queens-based representative and the young woman in question were involved in an online, consensual relationship involving the mutual exchange of intimate photographs.

BigGovernment.com and BigJournalism.com were approached regarding this information more than a week prior to the separate, independent event of Friday, May 27, 2011, when a link to the now-infamous “gray underwear” photograph appeared publicly on Rep. Weiner’s Twitter feed.

We will be updating BigGovernment.com and BigJournalism.com throughout the day with photographs, timelines, and other clarifying details. However, we will not be releasing all of the material because some of it is of an extreme, graphic nature.

It’s a sad statement on American politics when we have our Weiner over the line of public decency and telling lies about it to disguise the Weiner’s indiscretions. We may safely assume that sanctimonious rabble rousing and the banging of pots and pans on the congressional floor does not necessarily indicate a clean Weiner: to the contrary, these media whores who are the most exuberant Weiner wavers and are often involved in the most indelicate Weiner usage.

None the less, he is our Weiner from Queens and he deserves to be judged in the court of public opinion; for no laws have been broken other than the informal laws of human decency and undue Weiner exposure. Sadly, we can say this a sorry about an out of control Weiner.

It’s no wonder we’re so screwed.

Barack Obama has decided that he is the king of the United States and Republicans are in meek compliance. Obama unilaterally took us to war in Libya on a false premise. Libya was never an imminent threat. Obama invoked the War Powers Act in defense of his actions but now that the 60 days has passed Obama simply declared that he will simply not abide by the law.

In an effort to satisfy those arguing he needs to seek congressional authorization to continue US military activity in accordance with the War Powers Resolution, President Obama wrote a letter to congressional leaders this afternoon suggesting that the role is now so “limited” he does not need to seek congressional approval.

“Since April 4,” the president wrote, “U.S. participation has consisted of: (1) non-kinetic support to the NATO-led operation, including intelligence, logistical support, and search and rescue assistance; (2) aircraft that have assisted in the suppression and destruction of air defenses in support of the no-fly zone; and (3) since April 23, precision strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles against a limited set of clearly defined targets in support of the NATO-led coalition’s efforts.”

Never mind that Obama has lied about virtually every aspect of the Libyan involvement right from the start, which is why you’re an idiot to believe anything Barack Obama says.

There was a time when democrats thought this was a bad thing:

Hillary Clinton: “If the administration believes that any, any use of force against Iran is necessary, the president must come to Congress to seek that authority.”

Joe Biden:“I want to make it clear. And I made it clear to the President that if he takes this nation to war with Iran without Congressional approval. I will make it my business to impeach him. That’s a fact. That is a fact.”

And the Republicans?

Lindsey Graham whined recently about Fox News hindering Graham’s efforts at amnesty.

“In today’s world, it’s very hard for bi-partisan agreements to be formed,” said Graham, “because those who don’t like what you’re trying to do are able to generate a lot of pushback early on, so this 24 hour news cycle makes it very, very difficult, but not impossible.

“Let’s talk about immigration. When Fox News is saying ‘amnesty’ 24 hours a day, it makes it harder for me to get people on my side,” he added. “When the left, through MSNBC, talks about the tax cuts being a sell-out and going back to Bush policies, it makes harder for our Democratic colleagues.

Graham is a RINO. He is a closet democrat who is stupid enough to support the Schumer amnesty program, and here’s where Graham amply demonstrates just how much of a fool he is:

In March 2011, Graham said, “If you secure your border, control who gets a job in America, I’m more than willing to give a legal status to the 10 or 12 million so they don’t have to live in fear, but they come out of the shadows, they identify themselves, they pay a fine, they work, pay taxes, they learn our language, and if they want to be a citizen, they get in the back of the line.”

First, the Mexican border is not secure and there is no border security in sight.

Second, this is an amnesty bill. It rewards those who have broken the law.

Third, Graham seems entirely incapable of understanding a fundamental principle in human behavior: if you reward bad behavior, you will get more of it. All this amnesty would do is incentivize more illegals to invade the country and be signed up for the promise. Especially in a time of high unemployment, the last thing this country needs is a further influx of unskilled labor in need of social services and support.

HHS has approved another 200 Obamacare reform waivers, with about 20 percent of those going to “luxurious hotels, gourmet restaurants, hip nightclubs, day spas and four-star hotels” in Nancy Pelosi’s district.

But fear not:

Pelosi’s office denies any personal connection to the companies in her district that were awarded waivers.

So it must be true.

In addition, one of the most ardent supporters of Obamacare- the AARP- has also been granted a waiver. And it’s all about the money.

The AARP was a driving force behind getting Obamacare through Congress, contributing a large sum to the $121 million advertising campaign pushing it, and spending millions more lobbying for it on Capitol Hill.

The senior citizen advocacy organization stands to make huge profits from Medicare Advantage cuts and from the exemptions it will benefit from when it comes to the Medigap plans sold under what AARP CEO A. Barry Rand calls the AARP’s “for-profit side.”

The AARP’s support of Obamacare during the debate over the legislation raised lots of eyebrows nationwide, as President Obama called for $313 billion in cuts to Medicare to push the plan through. Seniors weren’t happy about it, and many ripped AARP representatives at town hall meetings nationwide.

Now, though, it’s clear that the AARP is set to make millions, if not billions, of extra dollars in Medigap plan sales moving forward because they’ve effectively knocked out their biggest competitor, Medicare Advantage, through Obamacare.

And the Republicans? This is the best conservatives can get:

I want to see someone with the same attitude democrats had when they controlled all of Congress, i.e. “Go f**k yourself”. I want to see some fire in the belly. With Republicans like these, we don’t need Republicans.