Blueprints

Floor plan 16.5 MB
Front elevation 16.5 MB

The above links are blueprints for an earth home. I understand that these are extremely tough times for construction companies, but I just didn't feel ready. It's a major financial commitment, and it locks you into one place. A foreclosed home would cost less, but I expect natural gas prices to rise in perpetuity.

This is my dream home. In an emergency it would not require heating or cooling. Food could be grown inside as well as outside, with a solar greenhouse based on the square-foot gardening method. The root cellars behind the garage could be kept at optimal temperatures by adjusting vents that lead both inside and outside. The computer would sit on the desk to the right of the couch, and the screen display could be routed to the entertainment center on the left wall. The furniture would be on wheels so I could push it off to the side and practice dance.

Also shown are JPG files, but the PDF file links above let you zoom for much better resolution.

How Greece Could Take Down Wall Street

by Ellen Brown
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/02/20

Syria predictions

Today I visited D.J. Strohl, who predicted that the Syrian regime will soon run out of money, but even before that, rebels will discover they can use hand-held rocket launchers to target the more stationary Syrian army, and with ever-increasing defections, overtake the Assad regime. D.J. and I are both peace activists, but even we agree that force may be the only way to stop Assad's massacres.

Caucus results

The results of our caucus at Rockford Rd. Library were Stein, 5; Barr, 4; and Mesplay, 1. But we used Ranked Choice Voting, so we looked at the ballot for Mesplay. The second choice on that ballot was Barr, so we added 1 to her total and the result was a 5 to 5 tie between Stein and Barr.

Comparing Stein and Barr

Jill Stein

Ok, I took 45 minutes to watch Jill Stein's "Green New Deal" speech. Here are some highlights:

"When they say there’s not enough money, they mean there’s not enough money for YOU. Instead of austerity, we can end the Wall Street bailouts, cut the bloated military and tax the bloated rich."

"And an economy that is addicted to ever-increasing supplies of oil is not only doomed, it is a national security disaster just waiting to happen."

"We will invest in research in sustainable, nontoxic materials, closed-loop cycles that eliminate waste and pollution, as well as organic agriculture, permaculture, and sustainable forestry."

"We will democratize monetary policy to bring about public control of the money supply and credit creation. This means we’ll nationalize the private bank-dominated Federal Reserve Banks and place them under a Monetary Authority within the Treasury Department…"

"This change will never come from the top. It never ever comes from the career politicians or the powerful Washington lobbyists. Real change has to come from the grassroots…"

http://www.jillstein.org/text_psou

Roseanne Barr

And here are some highlights from Roseanne Barr's candidate questionnaire:

"Both the Democratic and Republican parties are bought and paid for by corporate America and cater to the needs of the highest bidder as opposed to the people they claim to represent. I cannot be bought. I have been a tireless advocate of Occupy Wall Street since Day 1 when I delivered my campaign speech in Liberty Plaza on September 17th, 2011. I have considerable access to mass media as a result of spending the greater part of my life in show business."

"I will introduce a Constitutional Amendment that will end corporate personhood and remove the unfair advantage that corporations have in influencing the decisions made in Washington."

"I will rewrite labor laws so that U.S. companies are bound by them even when they try to skirt them by shipping jobs overseas."

"Not only will I bring home all U.S. troops from Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Libya, Mexico and the Horn of Africa, but I will also permanently shut down the 1,000-plus foreign U.S. military bases around the world."

"I will legalize all marijuana and all drugs in general. Drug education will be offered and treatment plans will be put in place for abusers."

http://www.gp.org/committees/pcsc/documents/rfp_gpus_questionnaire_1_23_12.pdf

Caucus Green Tuesday!

It has come to my attention that Kent Mesplay missed the party's fundraising requirement. I supported Kent because he had the best "Issues" link on his web site.

An interesting battle is shaping up for the Green nomination. Party insiders want Jill Stein, but if Roseanne Barr's fans turn out to vote and caucus, they will easily outnumber the current membership.