The Deliberate Agrarian: February 2013

Dateline: 28 February 2013

Dear Friends and Other Readers,

For the first time ever, I have come to the last day of the month without a blogazine to post. Nothing. This letter will have to suffice.

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The picture above is not of the best quality but it blessed me to see it. That is my now-10-month-old grandson, Jaxson. He is "reading" my book, Writings of a Deliberate Agrarian.

As I was putting that book together I thought to myself that maybe someday my grandchildren (and maybe even great grandchildren) would read it. And there is grandchild #1.

Jaxson & his parents are in Oklahoma. When I see that little guy on Skype I am simply amazed because he looks exactly like me when I was little. He looks more like me than any of my three sons did. It is uncanny. I wish my mother were alive to see him.

Later this year my son, the US Army soldier, will be discharged and return home with his wife and Jaxson. I am looking forward to getting young Jaxson started on his Christian-agrarian studies. :-)

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There is no carefully-prepared blogazine this month because I've been focused on getting my next book finished. It's slow going. I have 78 pages done. There are a lot of illustrations to do. That, and the page layout is taking a lot of time. I'm shooting for around 120 pages. It will be the biggest book I've ever self-published. I have to get it done and handed off to the printer before the end March. If I can do that I'll be making it available for pre-publication ordering at a reduced price next month when I post here.

The Planet Whizbang Idea Book For Gardeners will be a unique gardening book. There is nothing else like it on the market, and there probably never will be again (unless I publish a 2nd Volume). You won't get a book like this from the big publishing companies. It will be loaded with ideas. If you like to garden, I guarantee you will like this book. You will learn things that no other gardening book on the market will learn you.

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I managed to post a single excerpt to my Agrarian Nation web site this month. It's from the 1873 Cultivator & Country Gentleman newspaper. Here's a link: The Kerry Cattle

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I have been listening to computer radio programs while working on my new book. And today I heard an interview with Allan Carlson that was excellent. I've mentioned Mr. Carlson and some of his books here in the past (more than once). For those who don't know, Allan Carlson is a historian. I think it's safe to say he is a Christian-agrarian historian. I encourage you to listen to the interview at this link: Who Killed Family Economies in the 20th Century?—Capitalism or Communism.

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Last month I told you about the tyrannical new gun restrictions that were passed in my state. When I went to my February town board meeting I took a resolution for the board to consider passing. The resolution calls for the governor and Legislature to suspend and repeal the new laws. The town board passed it unanimously. The best politics is local. Here is what it says:

Resolution by the Town Board of Sempronius, New York
Dated February, 18, 2013

Whereas, the Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms is guaranteed as an individual right by the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of New York, and:

Whereas, the right of the people to keep and bear arms for defense of life, liberty, and property is, and has long been, an inalienable right of the people of the Town of Sempronius, New York, and;

Whereas, the Sempronius Town Board, being elected to represent the People of Sempronius is duly sworn by their Oath of Office to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New York, and;

Whereas, the New York State Senate and Assembly has passed a gun control Bill (S.2230), known as the NY SAFE Act, on January 14, 2013, and;

Whereas, the NY SAFE Act Bill was passed in haste, without regard to the usual legislative procedure, without public hearing, and without input from the People and various law enforcement agencies throughout the state, and;

Whereas, the NY SAFE Act clearly infringes on the right of the people of Sempronius to keep and bear arms, and bans possession and use of firearms now employed by individual citizens of our town for defense of Life, Liberty, and Property, and would ban the possession and use of firearms that have long been used for safe firearms recreation, hunting and shooting within the Town of Sempronius,

Therefore Be it Resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Sempronius, in the County of Cayuga, in the State of New York does hereby call on the Governor of the State of New York and the New York Legislature to suspend and repeal the NY Safe Act, and to enact laws that do not infringe on the individual Constitutional rights of the citizens of our town.

Be it Further Resolved, that the Town Clerk send a copy of this resolution to each of the following: President Barak H. Obama, Vice President Joseph Biden, United State Senator Charles Schumer, United State Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York State Senator James L. Seward, New York State Assemblyman Gary Finch, and Cayuga County Legislator Steven Cuddeback.

There is a growing grassroots uprising in New York state against the NY SAFE Act. As I write this, 30 out of 63 County legislatures in New York have passed resolutions calling for repeal of the new gun restrictions. 21 other county legislatures have resolutions pending.

My town is the first in our county to pass such a resolution, and we passed it before our county government passed theirs. Others will surely follow. If you live in New York and are concerned about this issue, This Link will keep you informed on the status of repeal resolutions. If your town has not passed a resolution, ask them to consider doing so.

As far as I know, this kind of groundswell reaction against a new law is unprecedented for New York. Something very significant is happening.

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Marlene and I have been reading about the health benefits of coconut oil. I am now taking a tablespoon of virgin organic coconut oil every day. I take it in my coffee.

It is my custom to drink a single cup of coffee every morning and for the past couple of months I've made my cup of coffee as per the following "recipe".....

To one cup of caffeinated coffee, add: 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, heavy cream to your liking, maple syrup to your liking, a good dose of ground cinnamon. Blend to a froth. Enjoy.

Marlene says it has too many calories for her.... so she sips some of mine.

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(click to see an enlarged view)

And finally, if you would like to see a bird's-eye view of what America looked like 150+ years ago, when we were an Agrarian Nation, go to Google Maps and type in "Amish Road, Gap, PA." Then back the view out so you see more countryside, and scroll around.

You will see a patchwork of carefully-managed small fields and farms. They are family farms, worked with horses and mules. It is quite a sight.

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That's all for this month. This post is a gift to those readers who complain that my regular blogazines are too long. :-)