The original lasted two years before the plug was pulled and there was only a feeble effort to sell the third year models. Obama is basically finished after two years, he will surely become insignificant during his third year and it is doubtful whether he will complete his fourth year.
Most of us have gathered up a few friends in our lifetime and I have had my share of colorful friends. One of my favorites was Belcourt. He was an Indian or Native, depending on whose book of political correctness and nonsense you have borrowed, but Belcourt wasn’t just an Indian, he was one of the biggest and strongest men I have ever known. He could have destroyed men on a football field and run with the fastest, but sports isn’t what interests men like Belcourt. He preferred hunting and fishing, he loved drinking huge quantities of beer, driving Cadillacs and huge Indian women. In the White Man’s World, I am considered a fairly big man at 6 foot two, 260 pounds, but around Belcourt, his family, and friends, including the women, I was so small that I was the butt of continuous jokes and laughter.
I sat at his table many nights and watched him and his brothers consume a stack of “boiled” moose steaks stacked higher than a long neck beer bottle: I’m not talking about one plate for several men, I’m talking about a stack in front of each man. No potatoes, no bread, no beans, just boiled moose steak; when you boil moose steak it turns a grayish brown and isn’t that appetizing for me, but Belcourt and his brothers loved boiled moose steak.
I’d take one steak and scrounge around for some onions and turnips and cook my steak with butter in a skillet with a pinch of salt and some cracked pepper. They thought I was hilarious and a typical White Man. For many Native people, a White Man is to be pitied and treated as if he was a little touched in the head. You see it is their culture, for them it is enough to hunt and fish for their basic needs; jobs with wages are something you do as a last resort to purchase a specific item, like a used Cadillac or in this case an Edsel. For the Indians like Belcourt, a Cadillac is the only car they can squeeze into or that will carry three or four of them.
Despite their size these Indians are often horsemen, if they don’t ride, they can tie a diamond around panniers and a top pack as well as any man alive, Belcourt also skidded logs with a horse with an agility that defied description.
I admired these people, but when they were drinking alcohol, I kept my distance. They often fought with knives over the silliest arguments and once the cutting was over, they usually required several hundred stitches; however, they rarely carried a grudge and were usually the best of friends the next morning.
They were always in the mood for a good joke, for laughter and good spirits came easily to my big friends.
I liked working with Belcourt in hunting camps or logging camps; you never felt like you were carrying someone else’s load when he was with you, more than likely he was carrying some of your load. Packing in supplies with Belcourt was a different deal. I always packed a horse at 140 pounds for a long distance, (15 to 20 miles per day of mountains and rivers). The weight had to be balanced equally between the panniers with lighter bulkier stuff or perhaps a wall tent wrapped in a tarp for the top pack. Belcourt didn’t want to ride, even though we had Clyde and Percheron crosses that could have packed him well enough. He packed 140 pounds on his back and broke trail ahead of the horses. On one trip the temp was hot for that country, I’d guess it was approaching 80 degrees; it was an uphill grade and the sweat was pouring off the horses. Belcourt stopped at a little creek and told me that the grade and heat was too hard on the horses and that I should rest them and let them have a drink before heading for camp. He gave a little smile and took off at a fast walk to get camp ready, with 140 pounds on his back.
To many more civilized people, Belcourt would appear uncouth and out of a period of history that passed long ago, but to me he was a Hell of a friend.
He came to me once to ask me about buying an Edsel. I’d never seen an Edsel and didn’t know the first thing about them, but Belcourt had a picture of one and he was intrigued by the harness horse work collar appearance of the grill. He was a Cadillac man that was for sure, but since Ford was willing to incorporate such a piece of the horse world into the design of their vehicle he thought he might just take a chance and buy one. He thought with all my home school study and reading, I might know about this wonderful new car. Sadly, my education didn’t deal with cars all that much, so we studied the picture for an hour or so and made many judgments as to the abilities of the Ford Edsel.
Belcourt then told me for the hundredth time how his father’s first car had been a Packard Convertible and how he approached the car with the keys behind his back so as not to frighten the car and cause it to run away like a green colt. When he was close enough, he jumped into the car, put the key into the ignition, pushed the starter and took off at full throttle. He came back the next day on foot with no car; they never found out if he ran out of gas, wrecked it, sold it, or just grew tired of riding the steel horse. We laughed and laughed at the funny notions of the old people, but in my heart, I knew that Belcourt was not all that far beyond the silly notions of the old people.
Belcourt bought the used 58 Edsel and I was anxious to see his new car, but that was never to be, for fate had other plans.
Belcourt never drove anywhere without at least a cooler of beer on the seat next to him and we aren’t talking about watered down American beer we are talking about Canadian beer that is considerably more potent. Now in BC, between Chetwynd and Dawson Creek, there is one of the steepest hills in North America called the East Pine Hill. Just downstream from the confluence of the Pine and Murray Rivers it is quite a hill or maybe a canyon. Belcourt had been following a foreign car that was probably a Volkswagen judging from his description. He felt sorry for them because they were so fearful of the down hill section of the hill and they seemed to be scared of the narrow bridge that is fairly high above the river. When they struggled to get momentum up the hill, Belcourt thought he would do them a favor and push them up the hill with his new Edsel.
Easing up behind them, he gently engaged their rear bumper with his front bumper and gradually increased his speed to help them up the mountain road. He maintained that he had to keep increasing his speed or he would lose contact with their bumper; consequently, the people in the VW were quite excited about being pushed up the hill, they were waving at Belcourt and he was waving back, only too happy to be of assistance. At the top of the hill, Belcourt’s speedometer was reading 110 MPH, he applied the brakes and let them continue on ahead.
He said they pulled over to let him pass and he waved at them once again while he drove on toward Dawson Creek at around 80 MPH. The people in the VW stopped at the Groundbirch store and made a call on the pay phone to the Dawson Creek RCMP and the local gendarmes had a road block set up near the entrance to the city. Belcourt said they arrested him and towed his car away, but he wasn’t all that upset since he didn’t really like the Edsel all that much, he had decided that he was a Cadillac man and they could keep the Edsel.
Now I am sure that the people in the VW were quite content to make their way up the hill at their own pace; it was Belcourt who took it upon himself to give them a boost up the hill and despite trying to wave him off, with furious hand and arm signals, Belcourt continued on with his personal mission of showing them a new way.
In our current political situation, Obama is driven to take us up the steep hill of Socialism and like Belcourt, he is oblivious to our protests and considers us to be, a little stupid because of our inability to see his wisdom. Unfortunately, there is rarely intelligence involved when a leader is an ideologue.
Belcourt may have scared the people in the VW, but they arrived at the top of the hill in one piece and ready to resume their normal lives: Obama has people losing their homes and their businesses and he is still driven towards his mission. The welfare of the average American is inconsequential when compared to the magnitude of Obama’s dreams of Scialism: Belcourt cared for the welfare of his captive audience, Obama only cares about his dreams of Socialism.
A professional horseman for over 50 years, Skook continues to work with horses. Skook has finished an historical novel, Fifty Thousand Years, that traces a mitochondrial line of DNA from 50,000 years ago to the present. The story follows a line of courageous women, from the Ice Ages to the present, as they meet the challenges of survival with grit and creativity. These are not women who whimper of being victims, they meet the challenges of survival as women who use their abilities without excuses or remorse, these women are winners, they are our ancestors.
Fifty Thousand Years is available in paperback and e-book, it is getting great reviews. You can purchase a copy here; Visit me on Facebook.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dylantheauthor
That was good, albeit I have a sneaking suspicion that Obama was a mere prop stuck on at the end so you could tell us a thigh-slapping yarn about your larger-than-life friend of yesteryear.
Apropos of yesteryear, Alas! Why do I have a despairing feeling that this was a very long time ago and that the children and grandchildren of this Belcourt gent and his contemporaries are a pathetic, sodden, welfare-ruined lot that have your old friend spinning in his grave?
Society has forgotten that men like Belcourt were part of the great fabric of this country and now all we have are imitations like Obama.
Sad day for America.
@Skook
“Obama only cares about his dreams of Socialism.”
If you actually believe that you are have been drinking way to much right wing Koolaid!
First you need to review what Socialism really is. Obama doesn’t even come close to being a Socialist.
Secondly… Your sub headline states “it’s doubtful he will complete his 4th year” OH really?? Where are you thinking he will go?? Are you one that those that actually believes he will be impeached? That is totally laughable!!!
Living a life in the back country, one founded on the principals of family survival, necessity to exercise the decision just to live, while at the same time coming to grips with the invasion of the modern world, created an entirely different localized demographic. A conservative necessity that meant that each person knew that they must accomplish certain requirements just to live, to stay alive. Thus came the concept of achieving the “dream”. The ownership of a caddie or an edsel was to Belcourt the achievement of a lifetime . . . his dream if you will. He saw the climbing of the hill as a challenge, an accomplishment of self-fulfillment, and if he could assist someone else at getting to the top of the mountain . . . he had contributed to their dreams also.
Today we see a political world that does not recognize OUR daily tribulations . . . a welfare state that wants only for US to fall into line and march to the tune of requiem, to dance the danse macabre. To accept that the dreams of others should be out dreams too. To ask for only what can be provided and no longer should be struggle against the storms of the mountains but accept the peacefulness of the valley of sloth.
The human being is NOT this kind of animal. We seek to improve, not the matter that we have achieved great things . . . but that there are greater things awaiting us at the mountain top . . . and we should as a single being strive to get there. This is freedom.
@Real American Patriot:
Errr….yes, he absolutely meets the definition of socialist.
And you, sir, meet the definition of dumb ass.
More Belcourt please
@RAP,
Okay then, perhaps you would care to enlighten us. If you’d be kind enough to give us your definition of Socialism, we can compare/contrast this administration and its aspirations.
Jeff
Tallgrass: hi, thank you, for the Lesson on Wisdom, THAT should be learned and analyze by university students all over , bye
Perhaps to a certain degree, even a large degree, freedom is sociopathic, it is detrimental to the to the “hive” . . . a single bee that ventures out into the world to far from the hive does indeed find it’s self alone, yet perhaps that bee also discovers the sweetest nectar of the fruit of freedom though the benefit to the hive is detrimental. That single bee has risked it’s very life, and may ultimately pay the price of life by venturing to the extreme. Socialism takes this freedom to venture out away . . . restricts the lives of the hive member to within the defined boundaries established by barriers and limits of. This in the human world limits the individual to a role playing within the view of the collective as to what that person can most valuably contribute to the needs of the collective, and the human is then restricted by placing penalties of forfeiting life, a penalty of death.
Our Resident in Chief has on many occasions discussed the concept of salvation as being a group process . . . that the salvation of the single person is dependent up on contribution to the salvation of the group. This very concept is in direct conflict with self actualization and restricts the individual from any attempt to be self-actualized, since within this concept of freedom and sociopathic aspects . . . the final success of a single individual may indeed be at the net detriment of others. This is the concept of competition, free markets and taking advantage of opportunities. Consider that the manufacturing of automobiles, where technology (a human created change) did in fact replace hundreds, perhaps thousands of people with automated robotic machines. Thus, the person that ventured out in to the concept of self improvement and self fulfillment by invention of the robotic machin may have been detrimental to the hive of workers at the manufacturing facility. In a social restrictive world, the inventor would be punished for the net detriment his dreams inflicted on the others within the hive.
Consider that with in the now defunct USSR . . . Studebaker trucks were in actual production until the mid-1970’s, with identical technology and production methods that were furnished to Russia prior to the Revolution. German manufacturing systems and equipment, taken from the Nazis at the end of World War II were used until the fall of the USSR. Life styles in the USSR did not change for more than 70 years. Why? Simply because the limits that were placed on freedom destoryed self actualization and self fulfillment.
@ Real American Patriot, your commentary here on almost any subject is laughable. Take Aye’s advice and do some homework.
Just as we have a “move the goal posts” definition of what it means for a GOPer to be a “fiscal conservative”, we also have an ever-morphing definition of “Socialism.” One rational definition of “socialism” would be government OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL of industries, such as owning the electric utility or owning a hospital. But what does the US government OWN now that it did not OWN before? Part of GM, I guess, since we have a stock investment in that company. But nothing else that I am aware of. If I am wrong, please enlighten me.
Other forms of federal socialism predating Obama include FDIC’s authority to take over banks and sell them to other entities; the Veterans Administration hospital system; the US military hospital system; the US military family housing system; the US military BX system, i.e. government owned department stores; the national health system providing medical care in rural areas; the national health corps, providing scholarships to med students and immigration rights to foreigners, who then work in under-served areas; and Medicare (more on that later). I see NO PROPOSALS from cons to touch ANY of these obviously socialistic programs. So to the extent there is socialism in the federal system, seems like y’all are not to jazzed up about MOST of the socialistic programs, only the ones that Obama is responsible for. Hmm . . . not much intellectual consistency there.
Government bailed out the banking system; it did not buy the banks. Nothing in the Obamacare bill constitutes government OWNERSHIP of insurance companies or hospitals. Just the opposite: Obamacare will add customers to the insurance sector, and help for-profit and non-profit private sector hospitals control uncompensated medical care expenses. Which is why those oh-so-capitalistic enterprises SUPPORTED Obamacare. Indeed, isn’t one of the con criticisms of Obamacare that it would force people to buy insurance from the private sector? How is that “socialism”?
Is the preexisting condition prohibition “socialistic”? How? It does not involve government ownership or anything.
I agree that Medicare has some socialistic elements to it. But is it MORE socialistic for Obamacare to resolve the donut hole problem (put in when the GOPers expanded that socialist program by pushing through Part D [for “deficit’?]) ) while cutting $500 billion in future spending? Or would the planned GOPer repeal of the $500 billion reduction and maintaining Obama’s donut hole fix be more socialistic than Obama’s proposals?
If cons are going to call Obama a socialist, they at least need to define what the hell they think socialism is, and how he fits that definition. And they should admit that there are some exceedingly socialistic elements of government that they don’t oppose, if not wholeheartedly support. But right now, you cons remind me of a con kid from Oklahoma I knew in college: he knew he hated communism, but he could not even define what it was . . . just knew that he opposed it.
Tallgrass: how very interesting, I found out of GOOGLE story, that the experiment are done on bees, and one concluded that they always figure the shortest distance to get to a flower,
even the scientist try to change that behavior on their experiment,; the bees with her micro brain eluded the problem and found again the shortest distance, I admire those, in my garden;
last year’s fall I was cleaning and there was a bush left with tiny flowers, I was cutting some bush of spent flowers, and I was chase out twice by the few bees there, and I thought they
have to be desperate to be willing to fight me,as they never did ,even came close in my face,
sometimes and a micro pause and flew away peacefully, happened more than once.
THE wonder of the wisdom of natures small beings. bye
tallgrass wrote:
Do you have a link to these speeches? Funny, I do not recall any of these “many” speeches.
B-Rob, YOU can take Tallgrass’S word, HE has the credibility of all the group here,
B.t.w. you don’t give us links yourself, why double standards. bye
B-Rob, wrong you are; GOVERNMENT spend what the Americans pay for,
so what they own belong to the people. THEY should never forget that.
Skookum,
Do you understand why Indians boil thier meat? I spent the winter of 1970/1971 in Northwestern Ontario with a friends father that is a legend in that part of Canada. A great deal of the time was spent trapping beaver, marten and cats for fur. One week we went into the bush with trapping supplys, salt and sardines. He was adept at boiling meat and we ate boiled beaver. It tasted OK, but like you said it was greyish brown and looked disgusting. It is very filling. Still can’t stand sardines, but I would eat beaver again, roasted not boiled. It was quite the adventure for a city kid from Wisconsin. Your stories remind me of that trip in many ways. This is not to say I am some kind of bushman, but I do recognize them when I meet them.
Good Tale Skook! You successfully brought the kooks out of the cracks for the FA gang to slaughter.
SKOOKUM: HI, WHAT a nice story of a self made man ready to fight for his freedom, I am anxious to get to read your book which will become a keepsake to last for the generations to come,
and still provide the knowledge and wisdom of those times. thank you for another treasure, bye
B-Rob, what you describe is Nationalism. While it usually always goes hand in hand with socialism, it is not socialism.
And if you have missed the salvation being a group process comment from Obama, well, you must have your head stuck somewhere.
Chicken Thief, how interesting and how fortunate you were to experience the bush in that era, especially with one of the legends. During those early years, my best friend, hunting partner, and trapping partner, Knarley Manners was a Jehova’s Witness: they don’t eat meat unless it is drained of blood at death; consequently, I received many lectures on eating trapped beaver. I was raised a Mannonite Brethern (I have since adopted worldly ways and fallen by the wayside) and had a healthy respect for Jewish traditions; therefore, at the time, the restrictions made sense or at least seemed to be important.
In the spring when the ice broke up we would shoot spring beaver and eat beaver tail either roasted or fried (after skinning a few thousand, the dark rich meat of the body loses its appeal). The tail tasted like a combination of fish and chicken. An interesting meal, but I wouldn’t want to eat it as a staple of my diet, at least if I had a choice.
The question of why Indians boil meat, I suppose in the old days it was hard to maintain cooking oil. Bears yield a lard that is excellent for making pastries, but you wont take that many bears in a year, especially with primitive weapons. The lard on a moose is yellow and extremely strong. There are only a few bush apes that eat it and I suppose they never made it to town. So boiling was a consistent method of meat preparation and required almost no culinary skills, but it is an acquired taste.
Oh, how I miss those days; thanks for sharing Chicken Thief.
I think comparing Obama to the Edsel is unfair….to the Edsel.
Bees, thanks for the kind words. In Belcourt’s mind, a mind that had only rudimentary self-taught reading skills, yet was infinitely more clever at figuring out solutions than mine; he figured by carrying the load of a pack horse and not riding a horse he was saving two horses to carry more supplies. To this day, I marvel at the strength and speed he maintained up that mountain. Yet his main concern was the condition of the horses, for they were laboring under the same load he was carrying.
Tallgrass, your prose is not far from the mark of becoming a First Nation’s Prophet; please weigh the prospect carefully and develop your ideas. Skook
I have seen multiple leftists argue the same point CRAP has. The thrust of their arguement is that because we don’t have a full blown socialist country NOW, he’s not a socialist. They deliebrately ignore the fact that he is laying the groundwork for socialism. They know they aren’t being honest when they say he isn’t a socialist, but lying to achieve their goals is fine by them.
Speaking of deliberate dishonesty, I notice B-rob has stopped ranting about the “woman assaulted by tea-partiers.” I guess that’s because a video came out showing her assaulting Rand, THEN being stopped after trying to do so again.
Sinanjou, I am supposed to throw in one of these stories of the mountains every so often, some are easier than others to draw an analogy to our present political situation.
There is a undercurrent of a story that you have touched upon; that is the assimilation of a stone age culture into what they would call the White Man’s World within two hundred years. The iron axes, copper kettles, iron skillets and pots, and wool blankets were a great help to primitive man, but there was a deeper price to pay than a few furs. With each item brought into their culture, a certain amount of their culture was discarded. The fascination with the car was a major change and sneaking up on a car with the key behind our back like a bridle is a perfect example.
In Canada, the Northern Natve people are suffering from drug abuse, alcoholism, and an unexplainable high rate of suicide.
I don’t have the answers, but I know that a once proud and great group of people are being ground into the dirt of history.
B-Rob . . .
Here is one example, yes these words were from 1995 . . . but these same words have been said many, many times at other locations, including Georgetown U and Nortre Dame U . . . at which in the speachs at each university, not only did The Won say such gobbley gook about salvation . . . all iconic representations of the Christian faith were drapped over.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7fi8STNlxM
It is a sad thing for this veteran of the US Navy to see a president not salute or cover his heart during the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance nor sing the National Anthem . . . yet bow to a foreign king . . .
This man who has achieved so much . . . fails to realize that the reason he was able to do so was because of the system he so wants to hopey/changy.
Obama the historical first almost black president of the United States of America. Most blacks 95% voted for him because of the color of his skin. Many others foolish enough to believe that race over qualifications was important also voted for the community organizer. He portrays himself as the great uniter of all peoples but his true motives show him to be the most divisive. He pits race against race, ethnic cultures against ethnic cultures, those that have against those that want, free loaders against self starters. Instead of being a shinning example of what anyone can accomplish regardless of race, he chose to squander the opportunity to unite the country and be an example for all people.
@ Skook,
“In Canada, the Northern Natve people are suffering from drug abuse, alcoholism, and an unexplainable high rate of suicide.”
This is the end-road when a society’s motivation is removed, and it’s daily needs are provided for by the government. For almost all First Nations people there is no end in sight unless they decide for themselves to make a change and break from the handouts, however, there are thousands of lawyers plus a large bureaucracy that also feeds off the situation and will not let it end.
Primarily from guilt, the Federal Government and the Provincial Governments provide houses, and money for everything else to all bands. The billions of dollars provided make for a dependence that is very difficult for Native People to terminate. The situation is further complicated by the social structure of the bands across the country, which are ruled by Councils made up of very influential hereditary Chiefs as well as some elected leaders. “Influence” in this case means “line my own pockets.”
As I’ve indicated on other posts, this is what “socialism’s” dependence on government for everything, money and decisions, leads to.
In Canada, it is the pay of all Canadian taxpayers which is redistributed. For Obama, I’m not sure he’s figured that out yet. He doesn’t understand economics, so perhaps in his mind, it’s those evil businesses and corporations, as well as the rich, who will pay for supporting the majority.
sinanju: you might think that the ILLegals who force themself through the borders are far more abusing the government free load than the INDIANS FIRST NATION of all AMERICA NORTH , MIDDLE , , AND EAST and WEST. who lost most of their lands,
BRob said:
Well, let’s just see, shall we?
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/551569/socialism
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/socialism
From Obama himself:
And his wife;
Back to socialism;
So, what we have is numerous definitions, none of which state explicitly that socialism is government owning everything, and all speaking about the collective. We also have the quotes from Obama and his wife speaking about the collective in society. Obamacare is rooted in the society supporting those who do not have. We have the country owning part of GM. We have the government owning various amounts of control over financial institutions and companies that took federal monies in the TARP programs. We have the desire of the left, including Obama, to propose CapNTrade, which places the collective interests in the hands of the government concerning carbon emissions.
In short, Obama’s admin, and this congress, have been exercising governmental control over private enterprises, advocating for the redistribution of wealth, and removing barriers to governmental control over private property. Socialism.
@B-Rob:
Oh, yes…you are wrong. Again.
Below is Mata’s stellar response to Larry W when he posed a resoundingly similar question a few days ago.
(In her absence, I will take the liberty of copying/pasting/linking it here for your examination.)
Another piece of video from Obama’s appearance on Jon Stewart’s show a few days ago.
In this clip he admits that ObamaCare was simply the first step and that it established framework for later expansions:
Back to Mata’s response:
Finally, Frances Fox Piven, honorary chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, has lots of praise for Obama.
I wonder why.
Here is a short clip:
CSPAN has a longer video here.
A little later on she comments,
Once you’ve finished studying over this one perhaps you can find time to respond to Mata on this thread.
@B-Rob,
Liberals are just as guilty at moving “goalposts” as conservatives, though I dare say that true liberals and true conservatives don’t need to do this, since it’s really just a political ploy. I have little stomach for this. In addition, I’ve known “anti-capitalists” AND “anti-socialists” who couldn’t define either term; neither side has a monopoly on understanding or knowledge.
To the point of Socialism, I think most people would agree that it exists in degrees. For the vast majority of those who oppose socialism, what they really oppose is that amount of government control that imposes an undue burden. This is necessarily different for different people, so it’s futile and utterly pointless to require a single, universally-accepted definiion of the word as a prerequisite to discussing its pros and cons.
Aside from personal differences in whether an individual should be able to own property individually, most people on the “right” and “left” want to feel in control of their lives, including the friuits of their labor. Most of us also are charitable and feel some responsibility for assisting others who are less fortunate. Politicians and business moguls (including many leaders of labor unions) keep us focusing on our differences (and engaging in class-warfare) to divide and conquer, keeping us from working together to minimize corruption.
Jeff
Son, you do know how to spin a tale. 😉
Nicely done, as always.
About Obama’s political belief system:
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2010/10/theyre-not-even-trying-to-hide-it-any.html
JR, I hope we meet some day; you who have done business with the wealthiest and still have compassion and understanding for the downtrodden are truly unique, in my book. No, I’m not talking of the Liberal Progressive who wears his compassion on his sleeve for political advantage and yet would be horror stricken at the thought of sitting down to a table of salmon or moose with an Indian family. I commend you once again. Hopefully, I will cook you some moose steaks and turnips over a campfire in the mountains one of these days. One of these days when the Obama nightmare and my personal nightmare are over.
suek, you work so hard to find; for us including those who just check on us;
the link to the bottom of the information, where the truth is real and raw.
thank you, also for your perfect timing ,of the last minute decision for undecided.
BRob, are you still around?
What does it feel like to know you are going to get your ass kicked in 4 days?
Maybe you should be like Obama and wondering whose ass he needed to kick.
@ Skook,
One of the great advantages provided us by the Internet is an ability to communicate with individuals we might otherwise never know. I have always found great pleasure interacting with those who have taken life on with enthusiasm, no matter what challenges were thrown in their paths. Moose has only crossed my palate a couple of times many years ago after having been prepared by my Dad who liked hunting and butchering what he ate. Try as he might, he never quite succeeded in transferring his butchering or culinary skills to his eldest son. Nevertheless, he has no doubt sat at your campfire, and shared a moose steak.
I am grateful that I have lived on both sides the 49th parallel and still straddle it, and have some good friends in First Nations who graciously load me up with some of the finest salmon available on the face of the earth. I might mention that having been invited into some elaborate Long House memorial/prayer/dance ceremonies, and having been the only non-native in such cavernous rudimentary theatre where the clock was spun back hundreds of years, . . . invested me with profoundly enlightening experiences. . . . Who knew?
Along with your many friends here, I wish you the best in getting over the hurdles, and send you some white light to lighten the nightmares. If I may – remind yourself of something you already know – the “nightmares,” wherever sourced, cannot change you. You still know what you knew before the 2 x 4s hit you on the side of the head, and you are still who you were, . . . only a little bit wiser. And one of these days is just down the road.
It would be nice to have Skookum’s and James Raider’s back and forth reach a 100 posts, I’m sure Beezy would agree with me. Those campfires are warming the heart and the personal experiences sometimes make me wish I coulda been there.
Have to pass on spending the night in a frozen moose carcass. 😉
MISSY, yes, there is a bonding between people who think alike no matter the distance or the way of life’s differences, I find this FA so extraordinary because of it” campfire we are experiencing,
all along the exchange between our so intelligent group, and I can almost hear them speak,
and hear the crackel of the fire burning those logs!!!! that is, because of SKOOKUM’s POSTS;
so capturing imagination of us who think a lot: MISSY TELL me if you think,I am getting insane,
or when you will start noticing. as for the 100s, I will be there with them, and may the quicker one get it, bye
Skook
Thank you ever so much for you kind words and recognition. My heritage is of the Muscogee Creek (orignally called Istichata)and Cherokee down my paternal family line. The word Cherokee is actually from the language spoken by Istichata. The Cherokee called themselves Aniyunwiya. Within the Cherokee nation today, the people (especialy the full bloods, of which there are few) call themselves “Tsalagi”. The word “Cherokee”in Creek means “people who speak a different languange”. Geographically the origanal location of the two peoples is very important, with the Cherokee extending south along the Appalachian Mountains to the Tennessee River. The Istichata extended north to the Tennessee River. Thus the two peoples, who spoke different languanges, and were very diffierent in physical stature, were divided by the Tennessee River.
During the invasion by the European colonists . . . yes to the natives this was a armed invasion . . . the Istichata became known as the Muscogee and the Aniyunwiya known as Cherokee.
We see in these peoples the very, very first time that the good of the “collective people of the Unitied States” to be impossed by a POTUS. In 1832 a law was enacted by Congress at the behest of President Andrew Jackson. The law basically disenfranchised the natives from the laws of the United States, declared them non-citizens (officially) and reduced them to non-humans. This law required the native to give up land ownership and be relocated to the wilderness of Oklahoma. So there are historical facts of the government of the US taking control of private property and deciding what is best for a civilization.
Ultimately the law of 1832 was contested in the Supreme Court of the United States where it was found to be Unconstitutional. However, Pres. Jackson said something to the effect . . . “Well now they, meaning the SCOTUS, have found this to unconsititutional . . . let them enforce it”. Thus totally disregard the SOCTUS and sent in the US Army, along with various State Milita, and the native peoples were rounded up and marched to Oklahoma.
This is the only time in the history of the US where a POTUS explicity violated the SCOTUS.
This was the beginning of a series of US Government atrocities that continued right up to the 1960’s.
Russell Means wrote about these atrocities in his autobiograhy:
Another author Angie Debo, wrote extensively about the natives and conditions that developed as a result of the United States attempts to “collectively” improve the forced assimilation of the natives into the Victorian culture of the US.
As an example in the 1950’s US Government policy was to assimilate the Cherokee into the white demograhic of Oklahoma. Policies were put in place to “remove” . . . take custody of children of Cherokee natives that spoke only the Tsalagi language. At that time more than 75% of the Cherokee population in Oklahoma spoke Tsalagi . . . with most being bilingual. Those children were “re-educated” in boarding schools ran by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In these schools peaking their native tongue was by policy anti-social and they were beaten or starved if they spoke this language. Note that these children were severly beaten, some were horse whipped.
Today, only 5% of the Cherokee people speak Tsalagi . . . and there are many, many of those re-educated people still alive in Oklahoma today. You will know these people instantly . . . the pain in their eyes remains as if clouds float across the wide Oklahoma sky and the Tallgrass stands above to see far across the land to where the heart once was full.
Missy and crew, being encased in a frozen moose carcase is a nightmare that is always just around the next bend in the river; it is there waiting to trap any of us, we should avoid it if possible and if it is impossible to a avoid, we must use our wits and inner strength to overcome the situation.
We at FA have tried to make a difference against our own frozen moose carcase in the fight to preserve our freedom and our traditional way of life, much like the young man struggling with only a pocket knife against the massive frozen moose ribs that imprisoned him. We have been tenacious and have worked with the humble instruments at our disposal and we have fought the temptation to panic or to just pack it in and surrender to the seemingly overwhelming momentum of Marxism. No matter what the election results are, we have fought well and honorably and I am proud to have served with you. I pray that on Tuesday we will see the positive results of our effort.
JR I have read of the Long House ceremonies with awe, they seemed surreal and almost spooky. I read the passages over and over to absorb their full meaning. As you can tell my outdoor adventures have been in the Northern mountains. You are fortunate to have witnessed the ceremonies.
Upon retirement I hope to visit the rugged coastal mountains by boat; it is not suitable horse country and there are almost no roads in the country I want to explore.
Thanks for sharing, the horses will surely notice my uplifted spirit.
Don’t know if this is going to be a double post, strange things happen with my computer sometimes.
@ilovebeeswarzone:
If you are insane, so am I. 😉
Skookum always takes us where ever he has been, we all get to be part of his courageous experiences, much appreciated. Now Tallgrass and JR share. What’s not to love about this place? 😛
TALLGRASS: thank you again, we are paying dearly for that,
in this present time, for this man in power at the time ingnorant of the fact that the INDIANS
where the best protectors of the land that GOD had created.
bye
Tallgrass, it is a tragic story; yet you are one of those who overcame the odds. There is a profound message to be delivered and I hope you find the path.
Please consider me available for proof reading or bouncing ideas around, I would feel honored to help any time.
Does this ever bring back memories. I did some drilling and consulting along the Murray River for Westcoast Energy in the early nineties.We called the huge natives- the FBI- which they of course took as a compliment. We had Tiny Thompson and Udo Shakowsky( House ) who would wrestle the natives and scare the hell out of the RCMP. I witnessed one pub free for all and of course the place was flattened. Boys will be boys.
@ Skook,
“JR I have read of the Long House ceremonies with awe, they seemed surreal and almost spooky.”
Quite so. As you know, the indigenous populations had to submit to the religious impositions of Jesuits and settlers who did not understand such cultural rituals as shamanism. The ceremonies which the new arrivals considered barbaric and therefore attempted to suppress, only succeeded in entrenching them in the Native culture by pushing them underground.
The many elements of what were considered pagan rites and beliefs continue to be practiced to this day behind locked doors of the Long House, which I’d also call a smoke house, because the structure gets rather filled with smoke of the fires, and after a few hours the dearth of oxygen is evident. While it is not my place to describe the details, I discovered a deeply felt sense of spirituality, a veneration of nature, and an appreciation for their elders and the departed. I also realized that they had good reason to trust some of their healers.
I hope that one day the locked doors to these powerful events, which continue to pull forward ancient cultural rituals through convocation, will be unlocked for the broader society to appreciate. There is much to be learned.
I’m not telling you anything new, since you have “lived” the experience with feet firmly on soil, but for most of us, a glimpse into deeply rooted primordial, but venerable concepts and exercises would open minds to better self understanding.
Tallgrass,
I am not directly familiar with the tenuous details of the existing relationship the Cherokee have with the government, however the protracted battle that persists in Canada has been one theatric play of the absurd manipulated by lawyers.
Lawyers have now taken over the whole conversation, and since the principal method lawyers have for making money is to extend the presence of Strife, they have done their utmost on both sides of the table to make sure resolutions are never achieved.
I can attest very personally to the level of games played because some of the Native leaders have asked me for behind the scene counsel. In the process of providing advice, I have read in detail, some of their contracts dating back generations, one was over 100 years old.
I provide my counsel as a gift so I have no dog in the hunt, and I attest to the fact that the native bands not only need protection from the government bureaucracy and its lawyers, but they are in bad need of protection from their own lawyers who evidently lack either morals, or principles.
The embittered situation’s complexity, is further perpetuated by the fact that about half of the native population wants Off the government dole, while the other half Fears Losing it. . . . And the flow of hundreds of millions in lawyer fees continues unabated, as pretence of land settlement negotiations torment most levels of society.
Lawyers have effectively used what Russell Means called “sympathy.” That sympathy has long morphed into guilt felt by the broader society, which pumps the billing machine which the legal profession has eternalized.
There are few solutions in sight, . . . while yet another band gets suckered into the raising of another casino on its land.
@ Tallgrass, Thank You.
@ James Raider, Thank You as well.
The history of the relationship of Native Americans and the US Government is very heavily seasoned with broken Treaties, internment on Reservations, mistreatment at the hands of the BIA, dependence upon the Government, shoddy housing, substandard medical care and no just compensation ever paid for the lands that were considered sacred.
The Casino business is another example of corruption and benefits tribal leadership and attorneys far more than tribal members as you are well aware of by now.
My Grand Father was educated at Carlisle Indian School and never returned to the Reservation. He told me of the Customs and Heritage of the Sioux when I was knee high to a jack rabbit, over campfires on the high plains of Montana on our spread. He passed on to me the value of hard work, self reliance, individual responsibility and honesty. He always felt that the Reservation folks had traded their independence for dependence and will continue to suffer for that unless they leave and make a life outside the fence.