Mt. McKinley Meats and the Division of Ag......

Alaska Ag is dying.

It's a simple list of circumstance, coupled with policy and sprinkled with budget constraints, stirred together with modern culture and bureaucratic bumbling, completed with blindfold on.

On the federal level, the government influence extends into every facet of food production.  If you have the passion, the will and desire, and the fortitude to produce food, you can bet there is a three ring binder of regulations (created mostly by bureaucrats, mind you, but federal law nonetheless) covering the soils, the waters, the methods used to produce that food. You may need permits, have to submit extensive, complicated plans, record and report all activities-and be subject to visitation and confiscation and a whole host of other noxious intrusions to get your crop sold. If you chose to jump onto the organic wagon, that includes even more time, effort, and yes....money. 

On the State of Alaska side, there are the budget cuts to come.  This will bring to an end, many years of crop research, for one. And that matters, a lot. They're going to shut down Mt McKinley Meats too, the sole USDA approved processing facility in Southcentral Alaska. Animals are hauled 100s of miles to this plant, so that farmers and livestock producers can then resell the resulting meat and meat products, legally. (See above note about federal regulations-can't sell the meat without that stamp) So, locally produced meats will vanish from farm markets, restaurants, local grocery stores and butcher shops. So too, the farmers-hobbyists, ranchers, producers-will vanish. And so will the expensive and hard to procure breeding stock. When they go, the baseline impetus to grow hay and grain will diminish as well. Funny how one little thing, turns out to be the domino, isn't it?  MMM has always operated in the red since operations were taken over by the State of Alaska. Primarily this is due, once again, to regulation(s) on both the state and federal side. No visionaries have ever been at the helm, to increase utility of waste product(s) for the local markets. Thus, for all the animals slaughtered there over the preceding decades, not one bag or box of local bone or blood meal can be found. 

The current director of the Division of Agriculture must have made an impression somehow, with prior Commissioner of Natural Resources, one Tom Irwin.  Irwin has since left for greener pastures, but his legacy shines on in Franci Havemeister, whose less than stellar resume' includes this entry (from Ballotpedia.org) :

Before becoming director, Havemeister worked as a real estate agent, a case processor for the state of Alaska, and served as children's education director at her local church.^[3]

Really, is *that* the best the state could do, to manage a 2.5 million dollar budget? And to cough up over $120,000 for the position to boot?  Who hasn't been a realtor, or taught Sunday school? Prior state government works qualifies a person to run a for profit business, since when?  Why, since 2007, that's how long. In fact, it's ironic that her salary could nearly pay for MMM's long standing operating losses. If it wasn't so descriptive of how the state does anything, it would be laughable. Instead, it's a pathetic indictment.

The capacity of the plant is much greater than is currently utilized, which creates a backlog of animals awaiting processing. Kill days are just twice a week with a limited number allowed to be processed, and they're closed one day a week as well. We're told this is a cost saving measure-but it costs their customers (Alaskans) instead. When this occurs, farmers and ranchers and homesteaders must wait extra months for a slot on the schedule. This means that they must feed them much longer-as long as six months in some years...which translates into a much higher cost due to added feed consumption.

The argument that the plant is only needed to sell locally grown meats commercially is not entirely accurate. A great many hobby and small farmers, intent on raising their own food, rely upon the service provided by MMM. They do not have the skills, facility, or confidence to handle their livestock themselves, never mind knowledge or equipment. More and more people are attempting to grow their own wholesome meats, and this movement continues to grow every year.  In fact, there are two other USDA approved plants-and both are too far away from Southcentral for customers to reach. One of those (we've heard never used) is stranded in the Bush, another expensive boondoggle. Are there any plans to enable Alaskans to continue to have a local processing source? Well, no, actually. There is a committee looking into it (ahem) and the usual solution will be presented: Privatize. Whereupon it will go broke (as it has before) and we're right back where we started, three years down the road.

It goes broke because the state and feds, will not get out of the way of running a profitable business. It will continue to be buried in a mind numbing sea of red tape, regulations and "no you can't" policies and thus, destined for failure. Several very skilled folks have floated the idea of a "mobile slaughter" business, but the requirements remain the same for mobile, as they do stationary. And again, too expensive to be profitable for anyone to attempt to build one. Another irony: The state currently uses inmates from the correctional system, for their labor pool. In this way, they keep costs down, and provide the inmate with a new life skill....which they then cannot use because there are too many skilled butchers looking for work as it is. Just one of the unintended consequences of feel good policies, not practical ones. And any time a person dares to proffer any sort of solution, they are drowned out in a chorus of "You can't do that, it doesn't meet this (or that) regulation, we've always done it this way" and so on. A resounding, discouraging chorus, and the real drowning victims here are the residents of the state.........who aren't going to "got beef" for much longer.

This just in: Rumor has that a certain person on the committee supposedly working to find a solution to the perpetually plagued plant, has a back up plan. Indeed, his own plan, for another USDA plant. A private plant, not state owned. Methinks he is playing both ends against the middle here, and looking to come out on top. It's a win-win-win......better odds than the ill equipped director has going, for sure!

Alaska Ag: The bell tolls for thee

Not making any news recently, the demise of agriculture in Alaska continues its slide into obscurity.

Once an incentive to a small number of struggling farmers from the midwest, (circa 1935, the Matanuska Valley Colony project) the impetus for agriculture in the state is on life support 80 years later.  

In fact, it is flat lined. 

The state of the State's finances, ignorance at the legislative level, and the apathy of the residents have seen to that.  Oh, there are many passionate people, attempting to resuscitate agriculture, indeed there are. From the pedigreed and degree'd experts on the Alaska Food Policy Council, to select bureaucrats in state government, to the wary home gardener who sees the storm clouds-worry persists and pervades the farmlands, garden plots, and greenhouses across this land.  At the core, they all recognize one unavoidable fact: Alaska cannot feed itself.  It never has, and any serious disruption in that steady stream of containers from southern ports will spell doom on an epic scale. 

Generally, they are split into distinct factions:  Ag related businesses both small and large, the modern foodie type who is all about local and small carbon footprints, and the determined hobby gardener attempting to put at least something on their family plates.

The hobby gardener, of which there are thousands in all areas of the state, are the unsung heroes of Alaska agriculture. They'll try to grow anything at least once-and many will make repeated attempts to produce vegetables or fruits that are considered unsuitable for our gardening zone, or personal favorites from "back home in the Lower 48". Why? Because they want to, and they can, and no one told them they can't. Thus, surprising foods have been grown here, albeit in minuscule quantities. Citrus, egg plant, melons of all kinds, even a few sweet potatoes in specialized settings such as hydroponics/aquaponics.  They are forever pushing the envelope of what can be done, what can be grown, and what determination and attention and customized growing conditions prove possible. They experiment, they learn new methods, and they persevere even when presented with repeated failures. Would that our ignorant parade of legislators had done the same, even for one decade, in Juneau. 

The locavore and modern foodie movement, which is all about eating local, has had an impact on local agriculture to a small degree. Their demands, whether through CSAs, farm stands, or local restaurants, pressure the local farmers to produce a wider assortment, over a longer period of harvest than previously thought possible. The USDA has a high tunnel program which is helping these local entrepreneurs to satisfy this demand.  Those monies will dry up as the federal government reduces funding...but it is important to note that the State has no equivalent program to encourage actual food production in Alaska. 

And finally there is the loosely defined "agriculture business".  It covers everything from the amazing farm in Bethel (which produces a prodigious amount of fresh vegetables for the entire region every year) to the niche market grower who is providing mirco greens (for example) for one or two restaurants. There are still hay and grain farmers, slugging it out against poor weather, a lack of transportation from farm to market, and those who rely upon their crops:  Those handful of hardy folks trying to produce cattle, dairy animals for the hobby gardener, hogs for market and so forth. It also includes every person who must rely upon the service of Mt. McKinley Meat in Palmer to process their own home-raised livestock. 

It used to be said that farming in Alaska was tilting at windmills in vain. These days, there are no more windmills and most are left to either decamp for better climates down south, or simply, quietly, give up the fight. In fact, it's a bitter truth that ag is maligned, laughed at, and considered inconsequential by most...particularly in Juneau (which is ironic, since it was Juneau that handled-or manhandled, if you prefer- the two spectacular debacles known as "Delta" and "Point MacKenzie.")

Both of these projects were originally conceived with good intentions, but completely bungled by bureaucrats and red tape and stupidity.  It all boils down to a state that does not, and never has, shown confidence in agriculture-forgetting their own role in the large scale failures of the past. Ag does not even warrant its own department within state government. Instead, it limps along as a step child to the Dept of Environmental Conservation.....and will soon lose both the plant materials center (where ongoing research into crops takes place) and Mt. McKinley Meats. When those close their doors for good, it will be time to start digging a very large hole-because the State of Alaska gives no thought to what happens next.

 

June 26th, 2015: R.I.P., the America I knew

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) by a near 5/4 margin, ordered all states to recognize same sex marriages.

Another ruling determined that the 10th Amendment might as well be abandoned.

If you don't know what the 10th Amendment is all about. Or the 1st. Or the 2nd. Or the 14th. YOU are what is wrong with America. YOU did this, to the greatest country the earth has known since mankind banded together against the elements and animals.  You did it, and you are to blame. 

YOU were gushing about Jenner and the Kardashians and Miley Cyrus, or whoever, and said nothing when bureaucrats at the EPA took away your RIGHT to waters. That's right, water. Don't believe me? Look it up, you morons!

YOU were following what's trending on Twitter or Facebook or the latest YouTube video break out, or the newest acts on America's Got Talent/The Voice/Whatever, instead of the new trade pact. Haven't heard about that? Look it up, moron!

YOU were reading about skinny jeans, small plates, artisinal foods, latest gadget/electronic toys, instead of understanding the risk presented by the huge hacks into governmental databases.  Look that up too, while you're at it.

YOU were following media driven entertainment sound bites, instead of applying your own common sense to Common Core...where the government will follow YOUR children from birth, collecting data about every facet of your child's life-emotional, physical, and *not* just educational.  They've filled out reams of paper about your child and you are CLUELESS about it. And while they're at it, they are going to foist upon your child's mind, their *own* personal views: Ex. Requiring a teenager to state that Captain Cook (famed explorer) was a racist. Required, mind you! Not contained in the report=Failing grade.

YOU have allowed the media to frame all debates about any subject of note in this country, because you DO NOT insist on factual reporting. YOU gave them the power to shape and change and divide this country like no other generation. Yes, YOU did it.

In your fear and ignorance of our Constitutional freedoms, YOU allowed yourself to be muzzled by public opinion, in order not to "offend". Shame on you, that you have spit upon the tens of thousands of graves of the brave men and women who died so you could freely speak your mind.


You did not bother to vote...too hard, it doesn't matter anyway, who cares, it's a pain in the ass, my vote doesn't count, I had to work, I couldn't find parking, I got caught in traffic, I had no ID, and so on.....I've read every pathetic excuse for not voting a person could imagine, and some I could not.

In your ignorance, in your apathy, in your shallow self absorption...YOU did to yourself.

Enough. I am silent no more.

The ADD nation

Today, whilst most folks are distracted with the Supreme Court rulings on the Hobby Lobby case and the others.....something wicked this way comes:


http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-29/isis-declares-caliphate-crucifies-9-syrian-rebels-being-too-moderate?fb_action_ids=704920846222502&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%22704920846222502%22%3A767948176561524}&action_type_map={%22704920846222502%22%3A%22og.likes%22}&action_ref_map=[]



I realize the topic is distasteful and the images revolting and nauseating, but you should be paying attention.

ISIS will now demand that ALL muslims submit to the new Caliphate.  Don't forget to check out the five year expansion plan they have on the link above too. And, while you're at it, recall that the Golan Heights have already fallen to ISIS.

Do not be deceived, this is coming to America. There are despicable, horrific acts being performed in the name of Allah, today. Including the crucifixion of the nine people described above.

Crucifixion.  Coming soon to a neighborhood near you.

A few voices, a few lights

and a few brave souls are sounding the alarm. 

There are a few on FOXNews, mostly military types, and a couple notable public figures such as Allen West and Mike Savage, and it is mentioned elsewhere-you just have to hunt for the comments. They show up on my Facebook newsfeed, commentary, memes, jokes, partisan rants and so forth.

A few days ago, this showed up on my newsfeed:

Yes, I realize it's an older tweet, but the man moved to delete it (reportedly) and in response, the astute Allen West had this to say about it:

http://allenbwest.com/2014/06/top-homeland-security-adviser-says-america-islamic-country/#a8vgV5gsgXy9hlyB.01


In  his comments, Mr. West ably describes how what is normally seen as inflammatory rhetoric, or an outrageous fabrication, gets floated to the public, then repeated and eventually becomes accepted fact.  This is a very dangerous thing, particularly when it comes to policy positions. (See any of the White House lies about any of their many scandals-how their "talking points" became quoted as factual by the complicit media, and subsequently assumed to be so by the American public)

In exercising my first Amendment right, I will state right here and now, that you will see a stronger push towards acceptance of radical Islam, across all state and federal bureaus, and that it will be sold to you as tolerance, diversity, and multiculturalism. That you must be more open to other religions, yet say nothing offensive in response. That islam will be pushed as a "religion of peace" by our leaders, and quickly the religious leaders will join in the chorus. This is how terrorists get labeled "insurgents" or "resistance fighters" and then "freedom fighters" and eventually "factions" and it's no wonder no one can keep American foreign policy straight...it's a corkscrew of misconstrued facts, outright lies, and fumbling policy blunders.

It will be mass brainwashing at its finest.  It's already happened, did you know? In the biggest, in your face manner: When the Ft Hood massacre, by a jihadist *in our own uniform* (!!!) was called "work place violence".  The White House, the spokeperson, the main stream media reporters, all calling it work place violence. Since when is a lunatic murdering people, shouting Allahu Akbar, not qualify as terrorism?  Or, if that doesn't suit, how about the Boston bombing pair? On the watch list, supposedly under surveillance by DHS and assorted other agencies. And yet, and yet, they could not be tracked nor found, with all the might of the metadata collected by electronic spying by our own government. Nope, they had to lock down the city, put LE and military on the street-and the good people of Boston rolled right over and complied.  The Boston Marathon Bombing was quickly enough replaced by other scandals plaguing this administration....there is always another one, isn't there?

Anyone do their homework?

No?

I can think of several attacks that made the news. The World Trade Center-twice. Remember, back in 1989, the bombing? I bet you forgot. And of course, the date forever etched in our collective conscious. And there's the Ft Hood "work place violence". And the Boston bombing. And I bet that's about all you can bring to mind, isn't it?

I found a page with summaries of such attacks on American soil, and it will leave you stupefied and wondering why you never heard about most of them.

A two second search via Google returns this result:

 http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/americanattacks.htm

There's even a Wiki page dedicated to the subject, but I also found this:

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001454.html

There are many pages dedicated to tracking this across the web. If you expand your search to worldwide, the numbers jump into the thousands. Many thousands. And many hundreds of people are attempting......with very poor results, mind you...to sound the alarm about Islam and jihad.  Writers, bloggers, even reporters, and so on.

Unfortunately, none of them have political clout, or media gravitas, or a wide, Christian audience. For all the hundreds of Christians killed, tortured, churches burned and sacked-which is happening now, today across the world, there is only silence from our Christians leaders, Catholics, Jews.

Where are the pastors and the priests and the rabbis?  Where are the learned of every religion? Where is the voice raised in protest? Have we traded away our good, for the dangerous ideal of "tolerance"? Because make no mistake about it, this fight has been going on about as long as we have had a history, and America is just another territory to seize.

Of particular concern, is the rapid rise and expansion of ISIS. Do not be fooled by the acronym, the reality of their violence and brutality I will not try to describe on this page-because it sickens, it terrifies me. And their interpretation of Sharia should leave every single woman shaken and fearful. And we don't need to list all the kidnappings and beheadings, do we? I could post video links showing these actual events-sure to turn the stomach of all. Or I could post graphics (attributed to ISIS by reputable sources) showing their planned expansion...and expand it will. When even the hard line Islamists wail (privately) about the atrocities of ISIS, you *know* it's worse than feared, never mind thought.

Think of ISIS as the super extreme arm of Islamic might. Not publicly condoned, but not publicly censured either.  And that is a very important distinction to make.

Will the leaders of the Western world stand up to the coming tide?

Alas, no.

Jihad in America?

I've pretty much let this blog lapse lately, haven't I?

I would like to say it's because I've been put on the dreaded watch list. Or I'm too busy to share my thoughts. Or I'm too overwhelmed with life events to comment on them. Or any number of seemingly reasonable excuses.

The truth is, it's none of those.

It boils down to fear.

Fear of being on that watch list, for one. Yes, legitimate concern, considering the scope of the people in the NSA juggernaut of metadata collection. Folks that know me on FB, are well aware of my conservative leanings, just based on what I share. I haven't been quiet about my take on the current administration, either. (Hi guys! Hope you enjoy this blog too!)

Fear of the coming days is always on my shoulders. Too many things to remember, too many to list, but as it has been for quite a while: I fear most the coming Caliphate.  Yes, our system is about to crash (and hard, but we'll get through it-our ancestors did, remember?) and yes, we have attacks to face and recover from (we're not a nation of peace, our very beginnings prove this) and so on. Even the personal challenges will become history soon enough and hopefully I'll learn from those and move forward in a manner that prevents their recurrence. It's been one heckuva year, that's for sure, but we're almost past the hard part and I'm optimistic about the immediate future again for my family.

But further down the road?  America is about to become just another battleground of jihad.

And no, I am not joking, I am not suffering from tin foil that is too tight, or delusional from any number of conspiracy theories (which replicate and expand like a never ending creep show of irrational thought gone wild)  or privy to some news that has not been dissected, reviewed, edited, sanitized or trivialized by other media. Nope, not joking one bit.  The truth is everywhere, and available to anyone who reads this online. You can find the information and make the connections just as easily as I have done, but I'll give you a few hints and clues to get started.  If you care. If you don't, your children and grandchildren surely will.

For well over 2000 years, Christianity has been at war with Islam. And in fact, think about this little tidbit from history......the Middle East used to be Christian. Rome to Constantinople to Jerusalem and beyond to Egypt-Christian. As kingdoms rose and then fell to the sword, the region became what we modern folks call "Islamic", and all subjects dhimmi (and much much worse) and even going as far back as the fall of the Roman empire, it was jihad. Not Germanic tribes as we have been taught, but the followers of Allah, of Muhammad. From Turkey to the Iberian peninsula, many bloody battles were fought and in the end, Christianity lost.  For millennia, the followers of Muhammad have expanded their jihad against us: the Kafirs. Every century, every decade, more conflict, more blood letting, more jihad.

(For an educational video on this, please feel free to look up Dr Bill Warner on YouTube, specifically this one:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_Qpy0mXg8Y#t=223)  There are many others available online, all you need to do is look for them.

So now you're thinking, what the heck is she smoking here, right? And what's that got to do with America anyhow?

Put on your thinking caps: How many attacks have taken place on American soil, perpetrated by the followers of Muhammad?