Higgenbotham's Dark Age Hovel

[aeden]

FBI's Detroit Field Office, echoed the sentiment, framing the charges as a "crucial advancement" in safeguarding national security. Even CBP's Marty Raybon chimed in, emphasizing the agency's role in stopping biological threats that could "devastate our agricultural economy."

Jian, now in custody and deemed a flight risk, appeared in a Detroit federal court on Tuesday, where a judge ordered her held without bond pending a hearing. Liu, meanwhile, was sent back to China after his airport interception; his current whereabouts are unknown. Both have a history with the fungus, having co-authored multiple papers on Fusarium graminearum since 2014, which raises questions about how long this scheme was in development. Denials of involvement appear to have crumbled under the weight of text messages suggesting Jian was already cultivating the pathogen in the Michigan lab before Liu's arrival.

Now, let's connect the dots the mainstream won't touch. The CCP's fingerprints are all over this.

Just like last time the assholes are still in denial.

[FullMoon]

Just like last time the assholes are still in denial.

They only denied everything because they were somehow complicit.

[aeden]

Cheep moisture sensors and shade screens H.
Nothing fancy. Also trim the tips and undeeded foilage.

[Higgenbotham]

What about security, Higgiebotham?

This issue is often ignored by half-baked preppers...

...One thing maybe worth mentioning that is a bit off the beaten track and in my plans. I plan to put what looks like a tool storage shed out back, but it's really going to be a small rental unit. I plan to rent it to retired military or a retired police officer or similar profile at a bargain rate...

The other day I was thinking about planting blackberries, which grow well in Texas. There are thornless blackberries and blackberries with thorns. Someone mentioned that the blackberries with thorns make a good security fence. Upon looking further, I ran across this old post on reddit:

Osage orange, thorny and fast growing, was used for fences before the invention of barbed wire. The wood is useful for crafting tool handles, fence posts, and bows.

Osage orange makes a great natural fence. They are said to be 'horse high, hog tight, and bull strong'. I'm planning on giving this a try at some point.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Permaculture/c ... at_do_you/

[Higgenbotham]

“We’ve Been Sold a Story That Isn’t Remotely True”: How Private-Equity Billionaires Killed the American Dream
In her new book, Bad Company, journalist Megan Greenwell shows how the secretive industry has insinuated itself into average Americans’ lives.

By Issie Lapowsky
June 9, 2025

https://lnkd.in/g2R7vGct

Previously discussed in the hovel here:
viewtopic.php?p=86085#p86085

And to a lesser extent in the story beginning here (after the series of quotes):
viewtopic.php?p=80965#p80965
followed by several posts to the conclusion of my semi-fictional story about how private equity operates vs the free market, especially this:
viewtopic.php?p=80974#p80974 and viewtopic.php?p=80976#p80976

Big picture:

As in the hall, in which there has been a sumptuous banquet, we perceive the fragments of a feast now become a prey to beggars and banditti; if, in some instances, the spectacle is less wretched and disgusting; it is, because the banquet is not entirely over, and the guests have not all yet risen from the table.

From this almost universal picture, we learn that the greatness of nations is but of short duration. We learn, also, that the state of a fallen people is infinitely more wretched and miserable than that of those who have never risen from their original state of poverty.

William Playfair
An inquiry into the permanent causes of the decline and fall of powerful and wealthy nations
1805

[Higgenbotham]

Prepare to live the life that you should have been prepping for all along. And if you have, you're definitely not looking forward to it.

There was a discussion in the preparation section about gear. The other day, as I looked around this house, I realized there is a lot of stuff in here that wasn't here a year ago, and that I didn't think about or know about a year ago. On the table here are several bottom halves of cardboard milk cartons that will be used for growing seedlings next year. There is a food mill that I have been using to strain seeds out of tomato sauce. Maybe most obvious, there are two bottles of urine. I hardly urinate in the toilet anymore; it all goes into the compost pits.

This is what's sitting on the counter now:



It all has to be picked and processed. Not when I want to but when it's time. The plants have to be taken care of. More ground has to be prepared for planting. Ten days ago, someone dropped a dump trailer here so he could get some free fill dirt I had dug out. I hauled 3 tons of dirt to the trailer in buckets. The closest we could get the trailer was about 130 feet. It was 12 hours of hard labor.

I still look forward to each day. But in my experience probably fewer than 1 percent will look forward to days like these, and almost none will after several years of days like these. My grandfather was a farmer back when farming was mostly hard labor. He was born in 1902 and retired in 1968. He still worked part time when he was in his 70s. When he was in his 80s we used to sit and talk sometimes. He was a strong man but farming took a toll on his body. A couple times he told me that he hurt so bad he wished he was dead.

[Higgenbotham]

Trump, in reversal, may exempt farms and hotels from immigration raids

After complaints from farm and hotel owners, Trump said he may halt ICE raids in those industries. If he does, experts say, he will struggle to meet his goal of 3,000 detentions a day.

June 15, 2025, 7:00 AM CDT
By Laura Strickler, Rob Wile and Didi Martinez

President Donald Trump said on social media Thursday that he is willing to exempt the agriculture and hotel industries from his nationwide immigration crackdown. The surprise move came after executives in both industries complained to Trump about losing reliable, longtime immigrant workers in immigration raids and struggling to replace them.

“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” Trump wrote.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigr ... rcna212958

Farms are going to get smaller anyway. But since we entered the maintenance phase of a declining civilization, around 1971 or so, farm size has held steady.



Average farm size in states like North Dakota and Nebraska is still increasing, so I would guess things haven't turned the corner quite yet.

[Higgenbotham]

I've mentioned in these pages that somewhere around 1971, give or take a few years, and it would vary from sector to sector with probably the more complex sectors coming first, that the US entered the maintenance phase of a declining civilization. There was a slow recognition and response to that turning point.

Now Google AI has added its 2 cents.

AI Overview

In the context of the study of societal collapse, the "maintenance phase of a declining civilization" is a concept that describes a stage where a civilization is struggling to sustain its existence and address accumulating problems but is not yet in full collapse.

Key aspects of a maintenance phase in a declining civilization:

Focus on Preservation: Instead of growth and expansion, the primary focus shifts to maintaining existing systems and infrastructure, sometimes to the detriment of needed innovation or adaptation.
Declining Returns on Investment: According to theories like those of Joseph Tainter, as societies become more complex, the benefits derived from increasing complexity may diminish, leading to a state where the costs of maintaining that complexity outweigh the benefits.
Vulnerability to Collapse: At this stage, a society becomes increasingly susceptible to collapse, as the resources and energy required for maintenance may become unsustainable, leaving it vulnerable to internal or external shocks.

Examples from History:

The Mayan Civilization: Some scholars argue that the Classic Maya, while often presented as an example of collapse, experienced a period of reorganization where the political system of Divine Kingship was removed in certain areas, but their culture and language persisted.
The Greenland Norse: These colonists invested heavily in inner-fjord pastures and oversized stone churches, a focus on maintaining their current way of life that, according to some interpretations, hampered their ability to adapt to changing conditions and potentially survive.
The Khmer Empire: This empire, which flourished for centuries, was eventually affected by drought and violent monsoon rains, against a backdrop of a changing climate.

Theories of Societal Collapse:

Complexity Theory (Joseph Tainter): Suggests that societies collapse due to the unsustainable costs of increasing internal complexity.
Five Stages of Empire Model (David Murrin): Describes the stages of empire, including a "decline and legacy" stage where the spending required for maintenance decreases dramatically.
Jared Diamond's Factors: Identifies factors like environmental damage, climate change, hostile neighbors, and withdrawal of support from friendly neighbors as contributing to societal collapse.
General Systems Collapse Theory: Posits that societal collapse results from societal complexity exceeding a sustainable level.
Malthusian Theory: Suggests that population growth can outpace food production, leading to resource scarcity and societal instability.

In essence, the maintenance phase signifies a crucial point in a civilization's trajectory where the balance between maintenance and sustainability becomes a key factor in its future.

AI responses may include mistakes.

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22main ... nt=gws-wiz

A closer look at what "maintenance phase of a declining civilization" means.

One facet of the maintenance phase is extraordinary measures that might not have been done otherwise were taken to prevent industrial civilization from collapsing. Some of those extraordinary measures (not all inclusive) were:

Most women and many more immigrants entered the workforce
Abortion legalized
Production offshored to cheaper locations
Lighter and cheaper materials used, especially plastics
Dollar convertibility to gold ended
Bailouts of insolvent funds and institutions
Computers adopted primarily to increase efficiency

Looking at this short list, which could be expanded but doesn't really need to be for these purposes, it can be seen that these extraordinary measures provided a short term boost but had longer term detrimental effects. To give a specific example, I'll talk a bit about plastics because I happen to be working on something now that relates to that.

[FullMoon]

I'm still going to recommend getting animals for protein as a necessary basic food and part of a prepping food program. Chicken and Bunnie are a good start I've found. Eggs cooked with greens in the morning and meat when you want, all self sufficient and all that are needed. All within you ability to contain, feed and feed the family unit. All need learning and practice.

[Higgenbotham]

OK, so I have a 25 year old Toyota and it's a great car overall. It has a lot of plastic in it. The plastic makes it light weight and it gets great fuel mileage. Still gets 30 mpg overall in city driving.

The 1967 independent film The Graduate was the highest grossing film of that year and, adjusted for inflation, is the 22nd highest grossing film in the US. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films. This is a quote from the film:

Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Plastics.
Benjamin: Exactly how do you mean?
Mr. McGuire: There's a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSxihhBzCjk

Plastic has been regarded to be great for a lot of things, fuel economy being only one of them. And from circa 1971, fuel economy was considered essential. To maintain industrial civilization the way we were used to it, we needed cars that got better fuel economy and plastic helped us do that.

In response to the oil price shocks of the early 1970s, Congress passed the nation's first fuel economy standards in 1975. The law called for a doubling of passenger vehicle efficiency—to 27.5 miles per gallon—within 10 years.

https://www.pew.org/~/media/Assets/2007 ... conomy.pdf

A few weeks ago, the manual door lock on this Toyota stopped unlocking and locking when the key was turned. Turned out a tiny plastic part called a door rod lock clip had broken off. A locksmith who could stick his camera inside the door was the one who found out what the problem was. He then tried to disassemble the door to get to it. When he got to just the second step, the plastic was too brittle for him to easily disassemble it and he said it was close to breaking. He said maybe he could get it done in an hour. At that point, I asked him to stop and said I would disassemble it and get the part, then he could finish the job. He was happy to have me do that. I spent about 1 hour 40 minutes getting everything apart and was able to get the pieces out he was having trouble with intact. However, the door panel was lined with a piece of plastic that has deteriorated badly. Probably I can patch it up and get everything back together OK.



So while that piece of plastic and others served everyone well during the maintenance phase, now we have to deal with all the deteriorating plastic and its unintended consequences, including maintenance issues, health issues due to plastic related breakdown products - toxins used as additives, microplastics, and nanoplastics - and who knows what else. It's only recently that microplastics and nanoplastics are even being looked at in any detail. My spell check on this site is even showing that, while microplastics is a word, nanoplastics is not yet.