Merriam-Webster defines Infidelity primarily as: a lack of belief in a religion, while Dictionary Dot Com defines it primarily as: marital disloyalty; adultery, and doesn’t mention religion until its third meaning. I like Thomas Paine’s definition of the word in The Age of Reason, which presumes a Common Sense usage per its infidel root:
Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe.
And he goes on to say:
It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief, if I may so express it, that mental lying has produced in society.
Words like these force me to face the contradictions between my own thoughts and actions. “My own mind is my own church.“, Paine said, and for me, there is discord in the sanctuary.
I profess to not believe in government — the idea that anyone has a right to rule another, whether asserted via physical violence or “legal authority”. I refer you to my Freedom post for more on the true meanings of the words freedom, anarchy and government. I put my ideals into practice challenging the jurisdiction of the cops, prosecutors and judges to threaten my liberty and property in their traffic courts. You can listen to the blow by blow of my courtroom battles and armchair analysis by the masters of The No State Project chat room via this youtube playlist.
Our national government is a disgrace and those who believe in The State‘s right to rule us have empowered a monster, the reigns of which are held firmly by a financial oligarchy via: their ubiquitous, privately owned, central banking cartels; their Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, Bilderberg Group, Royal Institute of International Affairs and other globalist organizations; their technocrats at the UN, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization and various think tanks; their control of the education system; their control of the mainstream media; and their muscle in the CIA, NSA, MI5, MI6 and their ilk in the interconnected, world-wide “intelligence” and “security” web.
Indeed, the words of Thomas Paine: “THESE are the times that try men’s souls.”, ring as true today as they did back during the crisis of December 23, 1776. Crimes like the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy are covered up leading to even more heinous crimes like the Iran Contra scandal, the 9/11 false flag attack and the 2008 Wall Street crash. There is no morality, justice or accountability in government; rather, government is simply a tool, implemented and supported — often with religious fervor — by its true believers, and used by the elites to control the masses.
Yet, despite all this, I am working closely with the government of the Village of Hartland to try and preserve and protect the woodlands and wetlands within their “jursidiction”. I profess to not believe in government while working hand in glove with people who assert they are “the government”. Is this not infidelity? How can I work with something I don’t even believe in?
This grandmother oak at the Hartland Marsh never fails to inspire me!
In an appearance before the Village of Hartland Board back in January, I pointed out how The Board was not honoring the will of the people — or their own will for that matter — as expressed in the Comprehensive Development Plan 2035, that they adopted back in 2010. Using aerial photographs spanning 1941 to 2015, I showed them what was happening to village land at Penbrook Park, hoping it would stir them to action. I have mixed emotions when I report that, at the Village Board meeting on May 9th, they approved a “Resolution creating an Environmental Corridor and Open Space Task Force“. I will be serving on the task force and I sincerely hope that we can produce a right, powerful, creative and liberating recommendation. Amen.
Well, with that unresolved contradiction in the church of The Buckthorn Man laid bare, it’s time to see what that hypocrite has been up to!
Way back on April 21 I made a bold move to squeeze in one more day of buckthorn cutting and burning at the Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail. I was determined to finish clearing the northern edge of a little wetland just north of the marl factory ruins. The ground was wet and I kept the fires relatively small. (Note, click any picture in any of the galleries to open them full size and read the accompanying text.)
On April 22, Pati and I joined Ben and Karen Johnson at the Milwaukee River Keepers Annual Spring River Cleanup event, where we worked on the stretch of the Menomonee River between Burliegh Street and Hwy 100. Ben and Karen organized the volunteers on our segment (Thanks!). Pati and I worked on pulling garbage from a log jam just downstream from where the Menomonee River passes under Hwy 100, and I had one of those delicious moments where I just knew I was in the right place at the right time doing the right thing.
On April 25, I joined Herb Sharpless, Maggie Zoellner, Gerry Peterson and others from the Kettle Moraine Land Trust and the Elkhorn Area High School on a workday at the Island Woods Preserve. This beautiful property is right in Herb’s back yard!
Herb has been involved in protecting and preserving the waters of the Lauderdale Lakes area since the 1980s. During a guided tour of the property after the workday, he taught me a lot about how to use government to accomplish good of everyone. Yes, I know, how can I say that… We had a very productive workday with the young people from the Elkhorn Area High School. Herb does a great job summarizing the day in the short document linked here.
On April 30, I joined the force of the Kiwanis of Hartland, led by Dave Cox, and we worked on a short stretch of the Bark River in downtown Hartland between Capitol Drive and Haight Street. I thoroughly enjoyed working with this group! The Village of Hartland Department of Public Works complimented the effort by hauling all the brush away.
Pati and I got way for a little anniversary break at Newport Beach State Park up in Door County. We camped at sites 14 & 15 and delivered our gear there via canoe — a first for us.
It was beautiful, but so cold in the morning that my left hand literally became numb as I was preparing breakfast. I could not pinch my thumb and any other finger together with enough strength to hold a feather. An old skiing injury come back to haunt me.
And last, but not least, I pitched in on the first cooperative event between the Ice Age Trail Alliance and the Village of Hartland since the village became the first “Ice Age Trail Community” in the state. Pat Witkowski pulled it all together and organized a brush clearing workday with some young people from The Hartland School of Community Learning. We worked in an area along the Ice Age Trail just east of where it crosses Cottonwood Ave. The kids hauled a lot of brush out of there and again, the Village of Hartland DPW picked it all up.
Stay tuned for more adventures of The Buckthorn Man.
See you at The Springs!
I Am The Buckthorn Man 