politics Looking at the folks who want to be the next resident of the White House, my assessment is simple: "I don't have a dog in that fight." Not only do I not care for any of the candidates, I do not recognize the legitimacy of the office itself, or of the structure to which it belongs. Borders are make-believe. Nations do not exist except in the mind. In the case of the structure operating under the name "USA", questions about whether to abolish or reform the current system are moot as far as I am concerned. It is coming apart of its own accord. Peak oil, climate change, and other theories aside, the plain truth is that the endeavor is financially bankrupt at this time and cannot hold together in the current form much longer. That Empires Fall is an historical pattern that has so far proven unavoidable. Five gallon bucket of sunroots, dug up Jan. '08, in the Cora Garden. From one (yes, one) sunroot planted Spring '06 When it comes to the dissolution of the thing called "USA", it is not a question of "if", then, but of "when", regardless of whether anyone wants it to be like that or not. Personally, I do not see such a situation as good or bad, a blessing or tragedy, in and of itself. These just happen to be the circumstances of this particular time and place that we happen to have been born into. And, "time and place" and "birth and death" are themselves merely sensual byproducts of a particular wavelength of perception that is itself just one of many (in one way of saying things). Therefore, I myself, personally, am putting forth no calls to "smash capitalism", "restore the Constitution", or "make your voice heard in Washington". It all seems forgone to me at this point. I do not have anything against (or for) anyone who does or does not put out such calls themselves. Everyone's doing their own thing and what could I have to say about it? Nothing, it seems. Speaking of my own choice, I don't feel that I'm guided by much besides practicality. If it is true that right now, at what we perceive to be this time -- "the present" -- "nowadays" -- some human constructions are falling apart and that the logistics of "survival" could change in big ways, then growing food just seems like a common sense thing to start doing. I don't know what else to do, personally. And it doesn't feel political to me at all.