Gov. Schweitzer on Rachel Maddow - Holy Cow!

I follow news analyst, Rachel Maddow, on MSNBC. This week, on May 10, Montana Governor Schweitzer appeared in a piece about the Tea Party and the state of Maine, among other things. I was disquieted by the interview and quickly jotted this statement down:

". . . if you are a governor, you educate, medicate, and incarcerate . . ."

[Interview begins at 2:47; quote starts at 5:00]



Does that sound right to you? The first one sounds good, but medicate and incarcerate? Something wrong with that picture.

It IS Spring!

I wrote a post at Catherine Austin Fitts' blog titled "Gardening in a Nutshell." Take a look if you're interested.

I found a booklet online—The War Garden Victorious by Charles Lathrop Pack. From Chapter I:

The war garden was a war-time necessity.

This was true because war conditions made it essential that food should be raised where it had not been produced in peace times, with labor not engaged in agricultural work and not taken from any other industry, and in places where it made no demand upon the railroads already overwhelmed with transportation burdens.

The knowledge that the world faced a deficit in food, that there existed an emergency which could be met only by the raising of more food, was apparent to every well-informed and thinking man and woman during the early months of 1917.

The author, wishing, as every patriot wished, to do a war work which was actually necessary, which was essentially practical, and which would most certainly aid in making the war successful, conceived the idea in March, 1917, of inspiring the people of the United States to plant war gardens in order to increase the supply of food without the use of land already cultivated, of labor already engaged in agricultural work, of time devoted to other necessary occupations, and of transportation facilities which were already inadequate to the demands made upon them.

In March, therefore, some weeks before the United States entered the war, he organized for this work a commission known as the National War Garden Commission.

What were the causes which led to the world’s lack of food and the need of a largely increased production by the United States to prevent world starvation? The same question could be posed in present time. What's happening now with our food supply? Most cities do not have adequate stores of food to meet the needs of even a short-term catastrophe. I do not believe shortages will necessarily be felt due to catastrophe, but rather, from economics and weather change.

It's time to be watchful of these things, and to plot a course for our own action in the face of such changes.

More Remedies For What Ails Us . . .

This week a friend and I went to visit Tom Tracey of Swan Valley Herbs, in Bigfork, Montana. Tom is a master herbalist with a lot of experience. His store is a thing of beauty! He and his crew harvest much of their stock locally. I love it! I cleaned up my basement yesterday and found a copy of his Herb Reference Guide from 1989.

We went to talk with Tom to get his ideas for keeping our immune systems up and running in best form. Tom's approach is pretty common sense. Cleanse the body using heat (saunas, baths) and take an appropriate herb, homeopathic remedy or other healing/balancing substance. Add to that, what you eat, water you drink, rest and exercise. Makes sense.

Winter seems to have come early here in Montana . . . along with quite a few other places in the U.S. Change of weather always affects our immune systems. There are homeopathic remedies for symptoms created by seasonal weather changes. It's a test, and an opportunity. How will our system respond? It's a good time to keenly observe, and take steps to take care. We can re-train our bodies to adapt to change. As a homeopath, and working with myself and my family, I have seen success in remedy administration over time, bringing the recipient to the point of being less susceptible, or entirely immune, to conditions that previously had caused a dis-ease condition.

I came away from Tom's shop with some ready-made tincture, and some herbs to make my own. It's fun to make your own tinctures—and quite simple to do. Tom recommends using Everclear (grain alcohol). Use glycerine or apple cider vinegar for non-alcohol preparations. Do an internet search for more details . . . or talk to your herbalist or buy a book.

The tincture Tom calls "Lomatium Compound" contains Lomatium Root, Osha Root, Cedar Leaf, Yarrow and Usnea. I also purchased some dried elderberries (locally wildcrafted) and a couple bags of the Lomatium Compound dry. I've started my tinctures which should be ready to strain and bottle by the next full moon.

Tom doesn't have a website but if you would like to contact his shop, call 406.837.5747.

I urge everyone to look up their own local herbalist, hopefully, one who takes the time and effort to wildcraft their own herbs. Knowing and trusting your health care provider is as important as anything else. Who's your farmer, who's your banker, and where's your money applies at all levels.

~ Anais

Gut Instinct

A couple weeks ago, I was at the end of a discussion with my good friend and supporter of incomparable measure, Dr. Jim MacKimmie. For reference, he wrote a book called Presence of Angels: A Healer's Life (click the image for more about the book.) I recommend everyone read it . . . but this post is not about that.

As I was leaving Dr. Jim's office, I mentioned common sense, and that I thought one of the most important (and quite possibly, most lacking) aspects of our collective lives at present was plain and simple common sense.

How did we lose it? How do we learn about it? As I am writing, the topic expands with the attention—like the edge of the world in quantum physics. Ah . . . anyway, to come back to something more manageable AND I'm not going to answer those questions here anyway, if for no other reason than lack of time.

So in quick answer to my question about what I could do to enhance my own common sense, Dr. Jim says, read Gut Instinct by Pierre Pallardy. OK....I walk out the door.

See this article from the Independent UK: Pierre Pallardy: France's gut doctor comes to the UK.

I pretty much always follow Dr. Jim's suggestions. They just make sense, you know! So I purchased the book and I am about half-way through the read. But I have read enough to get the idea -- pay more attention and BREATHE. It's effects can be dramatic, but my experience of

As I am working my way through the book I can see more of the reason Dr. J made this recommendation at my question about increasing common sense. It is as much in the way the book is written as in the words. Think on that. It's the feeling the words evoke.

Main areas covered (the basic table of contents):

• Abdominal Breathing
  
• Regular and Slow Eating
  
• Eating Carefully
  
• Recreational Exercise
  
• Exercises for the Two Brains
  
• Self-Massage
  
• Abdominal Meditation
  

It's perfect information in my opinion. The overall message, if considered carefully and followed to a greater, or even a lesser extent, would lead to enhanced overall physical, emotional and mental health. It's a pretty big statement. And I do know that flaws can be found in everything, AND everything is not for everyone! OK....disclaimer. But, if we look at something, and it makes sense, and it doesn't take away from us to apply the thing, my MO has always been to try it. Be a researcher, be skeptical (keenly observant), and take a step forward. For me, many things have worked out using this method. And as a result, I have a wealth of great tools in my toolbox that I can pull out at any time and apply as needed.

Never too old, never too late to learn something new! and

Love is all there is . . .

~ Anais