We declare Sovereignty

As we see the August 2nd deadline looming and the two parties feuding regarding the US debt ceiling we realize that our government is not so much in the business of conducting business, but in the business of waste, lies obfuscations, and destruction of the lives of Americans and immigrants who have worked so hard to make this country a beautiful productive and successful place. For it is on the backs of these working people that the billionaires have made their fortunes and incurred this unfathomable debt. This fact is never mentioned when discussing taxing the rich and that without the poor there would be no rich and without the wars there would be little debt. I have said, a general strike would be an excellent tonic for this nation Like they do in Europe the working class comes out in mass and refuses to participate and hold up the crumbling infrastructure if even for a day. For until then, mass consciousness will remain mired in the thinking that power is in the hands of the few rather than the many because in truth without us they are nothing.

We discussed these very urgent issues last week in syncopation with the 4^th of July celebrations at the Mendopendence conference. Local folks gathered a the Mendocino recreation center in response to a call from the new director of the Mendocino Environmental Center Justin Calvino and his co-worker Sarah Bodnar in an effort to define and declare sovereignty. Much of the panel discussions over the weekend focused on the very question "What is Sovereignty?" The most common definition was “control over local resources, including media, education, energy, food, security, jobs, and health”. We have long relied on the federal government to provide us these things and at the same time we are subject to their mood swings and strange unpredictable behaviors.

Let’s take health care for example. For so long we have been begging the government to provide us with Universal health care and what we got was not. I know there have been “improvements” like the fact that insurance providers can no longer deny coverage to a patient with preexisting conditions or the fact that you can keep your children on your policy until they are 26, bravo. But how much does it cost us and what kind of health care are they providing? Well, we rank 38^th in care in the world behind Costa Rica, Chile, Denmark, etc. Most people I know that find themselves in the maze of American Healthcare get a lot sicker before they get better, if they ever get better.

In a state of sovereignty we create a local system of healthcare that sustains our health and prevents disease rather than being dependent on a system tends to be dangerous and near collapse. We have a treasure of natural remedies and herbs growing wild here in Mendocino County that could keep a majority of us in good health for a long time. Last week on Holistic Healing Perspectives we were informed about Kangen water systems that transform our water from an acidic or neutral PH to a Base PH. Listeners chimed in on how miraculously the water changed their lives for the better. Marijuana, is a locally grown medicine and is also a proven anti depressant and pain manager. From the sea we have a valuable resource in iodine rich seaweed a definite protection against free floating radiation.

In fared Saunas are also a huge health benefit and relieve symptoms of fibromyalgia, arthritis, high blood pressure, and many other ailments. Sovereignty advises that we as a community invest in this kind of infrastructure.

We discussed the power grid and a way to generate our own electricity from the Sun, wind and perhaps biomass. As we see the unemployment rate climb we need ask ourselves what kind of industries can we create? What are our assets? What are our talents? For it is not the government or the billionaires that will provide it is we, ourselves.

Of course I dream of President Obama walking out to that bully pulpit to announce a new WPA works progress administration like the one created in 1939 by FDR employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects,^[1] including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects. It fed children and redistributed food, clothing, and housing. Almost every community in the United States had a park, bridge or school constructed by the agency, which especially benefited rural and Western areas. Yes, that would be on the heels of him writing an executive order rescinding all tax breaks for anyone who makes over a million dollars a year a removing subsides for things like 126 million dollars from the Horse racing industry. 3 billion in irrigation subsides that provide our nations fast food French fries, or making a change in the the Mining Law of 1872, which regulates the extraction of hardrock minerals Since 1872, land and mineral values have risen considerably.. Between $2 billion and $4 billion worth of royalty-free minerals are extracted each year from public lands, it estimates. But I fear Mr. Obama will do no such thing. He appears to be another puppet on a string. The time has come my friends for us to claim sovereignty and you can do so at the mendopendence website.www.mendopendence.com'