Government in Collapse

Right, planting fruit trees and putting in a garden. I strongly suggest you do the same if you have property you own or rent or can use. It is time to support local farmers who can feed you, and neighbors whose resources might be shared.

Our government since about 1900 has been a machine that has fed and grew on oil. The increasing free energy source was the life blood of a growing industrial giant that we were taught and allowed to love. Our country was the pride of our fathers. This machine of government had ever more growth and money from the application of this magic free energy to all the functions of society.
The upside curve of the graph of every increasing nearly free energy is a wonderful place to be, and any government blessed with abundant, SEEMINGLY endless supplies of cheap fuel can achieve the unimaginable, the moon, the sky scrapers, the bridges spanning miles of ocean, the cultivation of millions of acres by machines, fueled of course by cheap energy. Any government enjoys this growth period because all things are possible. The future is a vision of shining achievement, new technology, new enlightenment.
The down hill slope of decreasing energy creates a different form of government. Almost in an instant as we are watching, day to day, our government, any government, sees in this new future something it cannot contemplate, will not contemplate: the death of itself.
The government of ever more becomes the government of ever less, and that animal looks more like a coyote than an angel.
On May 9th George W. Bush issued an executive directive giving himself dictatorial powers over all branches of the government in extreme crisis. Extreme crisis as defined by the executive branch. Purportedly necessary to avoid a replay of the Katrina federal response disaster, or another 9-11, it allows Georgy and the gang to "protect" democracy. How in the world do you protect democracy by imposing what amounts to martial law?
Read the directive here for yourself.

I can't actually work up any indignation at this because I think I understand what each government, not just our own federal government must become during the collapse of the industrial period of magical nearly-free, oil. It goes like this.
Shrinking resources, shrinking money for government, a growing unrest from a population that is only used to more, not less, creates the need to do two things.
1. Secure all resources that are possible - right to the last drop in case of oil.
2. Control the population so that it doesn't remove the government that it perceives to be the problem, because it must be somebody's mistake. Higher gas prices, a conspiracy, not a natural result of less and less in the ground. (it is so odd that we understand easily that 3 apples minus 2 apples is 1 apple, but we all believed that oil was forever).

All governments must and do two things at the beginning of hard times. Inventory assets and control. Already in Oregon, there is a bill to meter personal wells. To meter is to inventory, to inventory is to control (and tax). That is the smallest step at the local level. At the federal level we learned last year that "containment" camp contracts have been awarded - guess to who, hah, you knew it - a part of Dick Cheney's group - Halliburton! Read prison camps for containment camps.

No government in power goes easily into the dark night. As an US ciitzen I long bounced around the superficial notion that we have a peaceful revolution at the polls every four years, and if other countries would emulate us they would be better off. It has taken me a long time to finally get it, and only through the gloves coming off of the current government. There never was a revolution every four years. It was always a superficial change to a free market engine that was only slightly affected. I'm not going to get deep into politics but America is run by return on investment - by profit, by corporations, and who they support are the only choices you have. A and B on the ballet both received money and incurred obligations to, the very same large corporations.

So look for these things. Passage of directives or laws giving emergency powers. Oh wait, that is done at the federal level as of May 9th. Look for local government, state and county to begin to inventory everything of value to be taxed and controlled. That is already happening too.

Look for the government to seize all remaining oil reserves as the oil decreases. Perhaps this is why 12 warships entered an exercise near Iran yesterday. Perhaps control of the middle east is crucial to the remaining 25 percent of the oil reserves under Saudi Arabia. Perhaps that is why the Saudis are moving the insides of their palaces to London.

I ask you to look with fresh eyes, not because I believe what will come is changeable. All governments seek to preserve themselves, all systems that work are worked right to the point they do not. BUT underneath governments there are people like you and I. I planted 2 fruit trees and 6 blueberry bushes yesterday. I am eating sprouts and will buy all my vegetables from local growers.
The local churches are holding nights during the winter when you come to a pot luck and meet your local farmers. The relationships that are crucial to your happiness during the down hill curve of petroleum production are happening now. If you know your farmer by name, perhaps you will have an edge in getting food when others do not. That is why the local churches call these nights, "That's my farmer." I suggest you get in on this.
Relocalize - buy even at greater cost food locally and make sure you make a personal connection with those you will need to keep your channels open during this collapse. Food, materials, medicines, everything critical in your mind to your life. People as a group have access to stored resouces in a way that no individual ever will.
Oh, and lie when local government wants to inventory what you have. Make your connections with others around you, meet your neighbors, host a pot luck, because a hundred people can turn away the sheriff, but one person is simply another happily employed laborer in the "containment and control camp."
Perhaps you having a sip of excellent coffee as I am, enjoying empire around me while it lasts and all the benefits we take for granted. You think, ' man he is over the edge, government is not the enemy, anarchy is the enemy.
I can only say, feel what is happening. IS it your experience that governments get smaller? Is it your experience that government cares about your welfare? In any crisis the role of the police and military is control not to help. We saw that with the pathetic Katrina response. We are no longer led by our ever richer benevolent uncle, Sam. We are led now by the lean and ferret eyed coyote who needs everyone's oil to make it one more day.
But all the other countries are better right? There was a free for all in the Canadian parliment last week when a shouting match ensued over the fact that they long ago peaked in oil production and gas production but they continue to sell the USA 60 percent of their oil and gas. Some Canadians want to stop sell us oil. Gee, that wouldn't be nice nor wise would it?

Government in energy decline is a different animal than government of the ever more energy blessed. It will fight for self preservation and set aside an democratic process that interferes with it's survival and growth. The problem is that growth is dependent on energy and oil has peaked (according to most oil geologist not working in the public relations department of big oil), and the decline means we cannot support the parasite load of multi level government that we once could. We are now taking our medicine and some cramping is expected.