Bethune Catholic

I am not sure I have confidence that either major presidential candidate has a clue about the economy. Obama (vaguely) says he'll change everything for the better and McCain just doesn't talk about it. John Medaille gives us some advice if an economic collapse does come:

Everyone should learn to do a few things. One, they should learn to be useful. Skills conferred by the MBA or as marketing managers may not be useful. Learn to make something that would actually be useful to your neighbors in time of need. Two, we should all learn to grow things, and grow them without chemicals and pesticides that may not be available. And never, ever, throw any garbage away: compost, compost, compost. Recycle. Reuse. Grow a garden now to learn what works were you live and what doesn't. ... If a collapse comes, you will be surprised how much it is possible to grow in a home garden, once you get rid of all that useless grass.

Don't worry about money. Worry about wealth. Wealth is things, not money. In a collapse, food that can be stored will be worth more than greenbacks. Learn to get by without money. Learn to work, learn to walk, learn to ride a bike. And (it may well be) learn to shoot. Get to know your neighbors; you may need them shortly.

I would add, if you don't know how to play an instrument or know how to sing songs with your family, start to learn now. (After all, we still need to live with joy!)

Collapses never usually take the form prophets expect, but general principles which are good for all times (good and bad) are worth living. (No debt, having a garden, knowing how to fix things, etc. are always good skills to have. )

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Possible bad (life) news on the McCain-Palin ticket from Mr. Culbreath: here and here. Not too much of a surprise-politics as usual. Recall George Sr. suddenly became "pro-life" after running as "pro-choice" in the primaries when Ronald Reagan tapped him to be his running mate. I have Catholic Republican friends who are convinced that Senator Brownback's influence with McCain will result (eventually) in a McCain who is against embryonic stem-cell research. (I guess it is Catholic Republicans and baseball fans whose hope springs eternal).

And news (also from Mr. Culbreath) that Alan Keyes is a presidential contender for the American Independent Party. (Didn't he briefly try to enter the Republican primaries as a Ron Paul spoiler?). I used to be a HUGE Alan Keyes fan. There is no greater orator in America. But he has faded a bit in my estimation. (The perenial candidate-is anything really being built from his efforts?) Is this a serious campaign? Who knows about it? When is he coming to my state?

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On the homefront: We brought home 3 truckloads of watermelon Saturday for the pigs (the neighbor had done his last picking and offered us the remnants). We may go back for a few more...

We should have two new pigs on the property tomorrow. And we have finally resigned ourselves to the fact that the "pregnant" goats we bought were really not pregnant-just fat. "Fred" is doing much better. Mrs. Curley is our official injection-giver; boy I'm sure glad I'm not at the end of her needle....

Sunday we went into the city after Mass to visit with some old friends and to say the family rosary-nothing like saying the rosary with a few other families...

Oremus pro invicem!