Weather modification like HAARP can switch the drought off. I wonder why it is not beng used.

I'm not so sure the prairies will come back, PereJoseph, much less be returned to their original condition. What's happened to these prairies may be the first step in the process of desertification. These droughts might well indicate a permanent decline in the quantity of rainfall the southern Great Plains receives, in which case a sustainable grasslands ecosystem would be impossible to recreate.

If you read about the desertification process in other places where it has occurred, the above is exactly what happened: A man-made change in the vegetation coupled with a loss of topsoil which took hundreds or thousands of years to form resulted in a decrease of rainfall to that area, since a large quantity of the precipitation which falls over land originates in transpiration from the vegetation there. Cut down the forest or mow down all the tall grass, and there is less transpiration and therefore less rainfall. Less rainfall causes an even greater loss of vegetation which causes even less rainfall, etc. Also, more heat rises off of a barren area than a wooded or vegetated one which in an already warm climate can actually make the rain evaporate before it hits the ground, lessening the precipitation even more. It's a vicious cycle.

The drought in Texas is a real problem, impacting the lives of real people. And what is the immediate response from the geniuses on our "Traditional Catholic" forum?

1. Blame HAARP (a bats--t conspiracy theory).

2. Blame Whitey, and call for a return to subsistence living standards.

How about doing something sensible, like, you know, praying for rain, fasting for rain, doing penance for rain? This would help; it would at least be pleasing to God. The geographical area currently known as Texas is not necessarily a very rainy place to begin with. Sometimes it is; sometimes devastating floods strike the region. But the interior marches of the Midwest can often be classified as semi-arid even in a normal year. Droughts like this have happened before. The current drought is exceptional, but not preternatural. The Midwest, with its stifling heatwaves, devastating supercell thunderstorms, blinding blizzards, epic floods, and blistering droughts, seems to be a region prone to every kind of extreme. Perhaps it is best to remember that this is a place where 'nature' operates on a gigantic scale. It takes a lot of hard work and fortitude to make a home in a place like that, and there will always be setbacks; but prayer and sanctity of life will avail much. We do not want to see what will happen if this crisis deepens.

it is not a conspiracy theory it is proof. Jesse Ventura showed it exists

Nobody doubts that HAARP exists. Of course it exists. But there is also a conspiracy theory afoot that it is being used to control the weather. That is not true, and it is not possible.

The drought in Texas is a real problem, impacting the lives of real people.

The presence of Anglo-Protestants and their hangers-on on this continent is a real problem, impacting the lives of real people and their land.

1. Blame HAARP (a bats--t conspiracy theory).

I am puzzled at how you can combine some rather profound insights in some of your posts with your rather unimpressive knee-jerk bourgeois conventionalism on the score of cօռspιʀαcιҽs in high places and the possibility of malignant action on the part of those who unceasingly direct the worldwide permeation of their evil ideologies into every factor of human life -- at the expense of the lives of real people.  On the one hand, you are able to be so erudite, but on the other hand, you start regurgitating neo-con prejudices like some un-educated, perfectly indoctrinated politician as soon as anybody brings up theories beyond the United-Statesian socio-political pale.  You would be much more effective if you dropped the pathetic sanctimony and stayed in the realm of the objective when investigating ideas and concepts, not considering (calculating) their political effectiveness but whether or not they are true.  

My evidence that you do this is, in my opinion, rather definitive.  First, you used the phrase "bats--t conspiracy theory," which betrays a certain fixation on what is considered a "normal" and "reasonable" conclusion in common discourse -- or, more bluntly, what the bourgeois-liberal world and the discourse determined by the mass media deem to be acceptable cognitions (yes, I am accusing you of middle-class mediocrity); secondly, I remember when you couched  Fr Wathen's position on sedevacantism in terms of what was "more balanced," warning against the adoption of an "extreme," or becoming a member of "the fringe," which frankly seems to show a weak mind that cannot countenance holding a conclusion that won't sell well with the great majority (who, it must be most un-democratically admitted, are not very intelligent -- but this conclusion does not sell well either, and therefore cannot be believed).  Your slurs against Bishop Williamson betray this same serious character flaw inconsistent with the glory of the Catholic name (that is, intellectual cowardice).  My advice to you is to man up and have the courage of your religious convictions necessary to break ties with political calculation and other ignoble concerns; especially, do not let this type of false humility scape your opinions.

And before you accuse me of being harsh or whatever, let it be known that either your offensive violence against Bishop Williamson and the majority of the members of this forum will be honoured, or my defensive violence against your words and in favour of the majority of the members of this forum and the legacy of Christendom will be honoured.

2. Blame Whitey, and call for a return to subsistence living standards.

I do not need to "blame whitey," as you put it, in order to encourage the return to subsistence farming.  Besides the liberation of Rome and the restoration of the liturgy, nothing is more necessary than the return to a Christian social order and the destruction of industrialism and the economic structures of commercial republicanism.  Even if I did not believe that the internal logic of Anglo-Germanic insularity and half-pagan hatred of Rome led to the development of the merchant classes; even if I did not believe that the small principalities and the growth of the middle class did not, by its internal logic, lead successively to the development of Protestantism, Scientism, Liberalism, Industrialism, and Socialism/Capitalism; even if I did not believe that the decline of the Faith and the competition between cities and nations caused by Europe's not heeding of the lesson of the Black Death, instead running into the arms of the devil by the so-called Renaissance which began the entire process we see unfolding before us -- even if I did not believe these things, I would still encourage all Christians to put on the habit of the love of poverty and not to live in those traps called cities, because it is good for the soul and fights against worldliness.  Besides, the mountains, prairies, and forests are the bastions of virility, whereas effeminate robes are worn in the halls of Kings (though, Kings being necessary, they should also be kept in purity and simplicity through living outside of decadent metropoles).

Since I do believe those things, however, it makes me that much more enthusiastic to chase the Anglo-Americans across the mountains.  Since I, too, am of European extraction, I do not see how you associate my commentary with hatred of "whitey," unless you wrongly (and very simplistically) associate the industrialism, urban living, obsession with the middle class, ruination of ecosystems, hard sedentarism, belief in the Enlightenment concept of "civilization," hatred of nature, and belief in one's personal "chosen-ness" of the United-Statesians with Christendom.  I would like to posit the rather uncontroversial idea that the US has never been part of Christendom -- indeed, it was purposely designed as an exception to Christendom, an exception to the Romano-Celtic cultural synthesis of the Middle Ages, an exception to the legacy of Christianity.  (This is not a conspiracy theory so much as an historical fact.)  Seen from this perspective, I do not see how you can feel justified in haphazardly underhanding your angsty weak-beer neo-con platitude out into a discussion amongst Catholics.  Perhaps you just haven't read or though very much about it, but I invite you to clear all of this up.

How about doing something sensible, like, you know, praying for rain, fasting for rain, doing penance for rain?

How about doing something sensible, like, you know, making distinctions between the people being harmed and the objective necessity and goodness of the event that harms them ?  How about doing penance for the renewal of the land along with the salvation of their souls, rather than falling into the trap of facile false dichotomies, like some neo-con ?

This would help; it would at least be pleasing to God.

I think my recommendations would be more helpful since they seem to be based on higher moral considerations -- such as the salvation of the greatest number of souls and the Kingship of Christ -- rather than being some reactionary diatribe based on the suspicion that "European civilization" or some other silly imaginary thing -- such as the social credibility of Traditional Catholics amongst contemporary generations -- are being assaulted.

Droughts like this have happened before.

Yes, good.

The current drought is exceptional, but not preternatural.

If God does not make the drought and control the weather, who does ?  Does it control itself ?  Sorry, but as far as I know, Catholics belief in special, not general, providence.

The Midwest, with its stifling heatwaves, devastating supercell thunderstorms, blinding blizzards, epic floods, and blistering droughts, seems to be a region prone to every kind of extreme.

But hopefully not social extremes or extremes of opinion ! :scared2:

Perhaps it is best to remember that this is a place where 'nature' operates on a gigantic scale. It takes a lot of hard work and fortitude to make a home in a place like that, and there will always be setbacks; but prayer and sanctity of life will avail much.

It also takes a lot of gall to go into such a large, rich, beautiful region and attempt to utterly destroy it and its inhabitants at the behest of an evil belief system and its concomitant evil manner of living.  Prayer and sanctity of life will avail to except one from this travesty, God willing.

We do not want to see what will happen if this crisis deepens.

We do not want to see our homelands destroyed by rapacious interlopers trafficking in the logical conclusions of their false religion.  I wonder if you would be so blasé about Islam if you were Turkish as you are about organised Protestantism as a United-Statesian ?  The difference, of course, is that if you were Turkish, you would have a people and a history separate from their false religion of which you could be proud and that could be fertile soil for Christianity; as an United-Statesian, you have neither.

There are Catholic towns all over the plains.

Well, semi-Americanist Catholic towns; I don't know about any unqualified Catholic towns.

The high plains have always been periodically unsuitable for agriculture.

Yes, particularly on a large scale, but they are only made to be apparently suitable for agriculture because of industrial irrigation from the Ogallala Aquifer.

They should be used for raising cattle.

Nah, this is unsustainable.  Cattle ranching in the High Plains cannot yield a profit because of the high acreage necessary to feed one cow, as well as the cold winter temperatures at night that kill cattle.  Cattle ranchers can afford to continue in their business because the US government subsidises them in order to make the large quantities of beef demanded by the American diet artificially cheap.

The plains in the North are excellent for wheat.

It depends on the area, and -- even then, -- only because of mechanical irrigation.


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The falsely so-called "pioneers" failed; the US has always bragged of taming the prairies and bringing in "progress" and "civilization" with their steely resolve and rugged individualism.  But this is a lie.  They were able to artificially bring in the simulacrum of health and success because of the railroad and the interstate system; in the long run, it is clear that they failed to assimilate this beautiful, wild land to their perverse model of society.  It all relied on the federal government's subsidy of technologies and industries that require the unsustainable extraction of natural resources, many of which are non-renewable (particularly fossil fuels and giant aquifers); if not for God punishing the world by allowing such material advantages to His scourge of His Mystical Body, the United-Statesians would never have been able to engage in such feverish boasting of their fake achievements.

I'm guessing you wouldn't be saying the same thing about the Canadian wheat belt.