sunday sept 4 -- pA2 -- hard to believe that "Ed Dept figures show about 41% of the state's 1.57
million students qualify for the meals" (free lunches) last year in flint 81% qualified, beecher 82%. checked stats at the national and state program data frac.org site to see if this could be true; no 2010 stats available but still state by state info and quite interesting
imprelis imperils? p 56 organic gardening oct/nov 2011. article is about an herbicide that has been mentioned in articles recently for killing homeowners vegetation. it includes clopyralid, aninopyralid and aminocyclopyrachlor which is the active ingredient in DuPont's Imprelis. (i checked on line on pyridines and printed out info for maybe a master gardener article) "They are classified as having a plant growth regulator, which means they kill plants by altering plant hormone levels--.....they are generally considered safe for [ingestion by] livestock." however using clippings from treated areas for mulching or composting or for compost facilities is a no go. "This summer, additional problems were discovered as tree damage and death--mostly to shallow-rooted trees such as spruces and white pines--linked to imprelis use were reported in more than 11 states..."
same organic gardening issue--article about gardens in colonial williamsburg. book coming out Vegetable Gardening the Colonial Williamsburg Way by wesley greene an interpreter at williamsbury
corn should be planted before or after GM corn so silk is not exposed during the 2 week period the GM corn tassels are releasing pollin. suggested 150 feet separation between garden and GM corn; some states require 600 ft
a prevention article that i sent a friend who can't take generic med or she ends up in ER. p.26 -- "generics have to be as effective as brand-name drugs....You may have heard the the fda allows a difference of up to 20% between how the brand name affects your body and how a generic does. that's true--but 20% typically isn't enough to make a difference in effectiveness. that said, there are a few drugs for which the 20% leeway could be significant. these include warfarin (coumadin), levothyroxine (synthroid) and certain seizure medications. for these particular drugs, switching between a generic and the brand can be a bad idea, so check with your doctor first."
Richardville singles out public school employees for Right to Work FOR LESS bill
In what is probably one of the most blatant examples of anti-union, anti- school employee legislation yet, Sen. Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) says he supports right-to-work legislation that only affects public school employees and will have legislation ready soon.
In support of what looks like political payback for MEA's recall efforts, Richardville said on PBS's Off the Record, "The teachers union--specifically the Michigan Education Association--have lost their way and public school employees should no longer be forced to join them."
Richardville singled out teachers unions because he claimed they haven't recognized the state's tough economic times like other unions have.
MEA President Steve Cook responded in a press statement this morning, "Republican leaders have slashed school funding, increased taxes, stripped collective bargaining rights from school employees, forced them to pay more out-of-pocket for retirement and health insurance. They've completely undermined and demoralized the educators of this state.
"MEA members are fed up. That's why thousands have been engaged, alongside thousands of other Michigan citizens, in recall efforts designed to stop these constant attacks on public education and the middle class."
Richardville's actions put the Republican agenda clearly into focus--an all-out war on public education and public school employees. And how will that save Michigan's economy or create jobs?
"Sen. Richardville seems to think that MEA members don't stand behind their union," Cook continued. "I have news for him -- we've heard from countless MEA members who don't think we've gone far enough in fighting back against these attacks. We're encouraging every MEA member to contact Sen. Richardville's office immediately and tell him just how wrong he is."
FIGHT BACK! Contact Sen. Richardville's office immediately at 866-556-7917. Tell him just how wrong he is. MEA members support their union. They've done more than their part in "shared sacrifice." Tell Sen. Richardville to stop attacking public education and the middle class and focus on getting Michigan citizens back to work.
Reminder: Many school districts have policies about communicating with legislators on school time and equipment, so wait until you are away from school to contact your legislators or use your personal cell phone when you are off duty.
The anti-union attacks continue -- bills attacking dues deduction, retirement introduced
In addition to Senate Bills 618-624, which would increase the number of charter schools, privatize teachers and allow for back-door school vouchers, both chambers have introduced legislation that would prohibit school districts from automatically deducting union dues from members' paychecks.
SB 636 and HB 4929 only apply to public school union members. In June, the state Supreme Court banned automatic payroll deduction for donations to union political action committees. The Republicans have gone one step further with these new attacks.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive), one of the bill's sponsors, claims this is to ensure people are aware that dues are coming out of their paycheck and questioning how much value they're getting for their dues dollars.
But the bills are really just more examples of anti-union attacks which do nothing to improve education or create jobs. MEA opposes SB 636 and HB 4929.
The Senate also introduced SB 593 which amends the Public School Employees Retirement Act so that all new members hired on or after July 31, 2011 would become members of a Tier 3 defined contribution plan. If you were an employee and member of MPSERS before that date, you would have three options available: staying in your current defined benefit plan in Tier 1; moving to a hybrid plan--Pension Plus in Tier 2; or electing to move to Tier 3. Sen. Rick Jones (R-Grand Ledge) is sponsor of the bill. MEA experts are analyzing the details of the bill and will have more information next week.
insignificance--kept trying to find this movie title so i find it and it's not available at netflix. wonderful
ORGANIC GARDENING vol 58:5 p 76--food at the frontline a conversation/vandana shiva Ph.dShe wants a gmo free future for India where Monsanto brought in the first gmo, its BT cotton seed. "I saw the laws of my country and checked with the environmental administrator, and found Monsanto did not ask for approval, although we have an environmental protection act stating any deliberate release of gmos must go under environmental assessment. Just like they have sponsored the dismantling of bio-safety rules in the US, the corporation thought they could just walk into India and do the same". she filed a case that held the gmo off until 2002 when approval was given. "Since then we've seen an escalating rate of farmer suicides. . .Today, Monsanto has 90% control over the seed supply of cotton in a land where we used to have 1500 varieties, including open pollinated varieties." When seed came into india it was more than 3 times the cost of conventional seed--nearly 80% of which was a royalty share paid to monsanto.
"It is a failed technology: Pesticide usages have increased, farmers are in debt, and it's that indebtedness that has since '97 pushed 200,000 Indian farmers to suicide."
weed - organic solutions include boiling water, vinegar (high %) maybe with a little diswashing liquid, propane torch, herbicidal soaps, essential oils
whirly gigs for scaring woodchucks
NATION july 18/25 2011 p6-7 article The War on Civil Liberties
In May Congress reauthorized for 4 more years: ..." provisions permitting the gov to obtain roving wiretaps without identifying the person or the phones to be tapped; demand records from libraries and businesses without establishing any reason to believe the target is involved in criminal, much less terrorist, activity, and use surveillance powers initially redistricted to "lone wolves" not affiliated with any such group or gov."
same issue Greece in Debt, Eurozone in Crisis p11-15 sounds a lot like here--"the new austerity package will see most of the state's assets, from ports to power plants and banks to motorways, sold off to foreign companies which will have no compunction about firing workers. The troika's main aim is to rescue not the Greek economy but the country's creditors--or at the least to postpone default until "contagion" can be limited and the banks protected, by transferring the debt to taxpayer-funded lenders like the IMF and ECB."
Boris Johnson, London's Conservative mayor: "Bit by bit we seem to be creating a fiscal as well as monetary union, in which huge sums. . .are being transferred from the richer to the poorer parts of the EU."
p15-17 New York's AG Takes on the Banks: "Some 47$ billion in claims are lodged against B of America alone--more than its total capital."
HOBBY FARM HOME july/aug 2011:
bon ami all purpose cleaner--spray bottle
p. 16 has a basic pesto recipe
p. 17 how to dry herbs
p 20 tarrgon deviled eggs
p. 28 ice cream recipes -- love ice cream. there is a bagged ice cream recipe which would be fun for kids, chocolate recipe using ghirardelli
p. 39 ad for what odor spray--good for diaper pails it says. might be useful
p. 53 crochet book ami ami dogs: seriously cute crochet by mitsuki hoshi, harper design
p. 53 homemade cheese: recipes for 50 cheeses from artisan cheesemakers by janet hurst, voyageur press
p 62 --article on blueberries w/ names of plants suggested to buy. www.blueberries.msu.edu and www.blueberry.org
new msu release=draper an early season variety
p. 78 article on bees and honey. see www.beemaster.com www.brushymountainbeefarm.com www.dadent .com (mentioned at bee group)
www.instructables.com for info on making a honey extractor
p. 87 ad for canine zip line www.fetchdog.com
Liberatarian views via the Kochs which the tea party has incorporated:
POVERTY AND UNEMPLOYMENT Government fiscal and monetary measures that artificially foster business expansion guarantee an eventual increase in unemployment rather than curtailing it. We call for the immediate cessation of such policies as well as any governmental attempts to affect employment levels. We support repeal of all laws that impede the ability of any person to find employment, such as minimum wage laws, so-called "protective" labor legislation for women and children, governmental restrictions on the establishment of private day-care centers, and the National Labor Relations Act. We deplore government-fostered forced retirement, which robs the elderly of the right to work. We seek the elimination of occupational licensure, which prevents human beings from working in whatever trade they wish. We call for the abolition of all federal, state, and local government agencies that restrict entry into any profession, such as education and law, or regulate its practice. No worker should be legally penalized for lack of certification, and no consumer should be legally restrained from hiring unlicensed individuals. We oppose all government welfare, relief projects, and "aid to the poor" programs. All these government programs are invasive of privacy, paternalistic, demeaning, and inefficient. The proper source of help for such persons is the voluntary efforts of private groups and individuals. To speed the time when governmental programs are replaced by effective private institutions we advocate dollar-for-dollar tax credits for all charitable contributions.
EDUCATION
We advocate the complete separation of education and State. Government schools lead to the indoctrination of children and interfere with the free choice of individuals. Government ownership, operation, regulation, and subsidy of schools and colleges should be ended. We call for the repeal of the guarantees of tax-funded, government-provided education, which are found in most state constitutions.As an interim measure to encourage the growth of private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, we support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an individual's education. We likewise favor tax credits for child care and oppose nationalization of the child-care industry. We oppose denial of tax-exempt status to schools because of those schools' private policies on hiring, admissions, and student deportment. We support the repeal of all taxes on the income or property of private schools, whether for profit or non-profit.
We condemn compulsory education laws, which spawn prison-like schools with many of the problems associated with prisons, and we call for an immediate repeal of such laws.
Until government involvement in education is ended, we support elimination, within the governmental school system, of forced busing and corporal punishment. We further support immediate reduction of tax support for schools, and removal of the burden of school taxes from those not responsible for the education of children.
CONSUMER PROTECTION
We support strong and effective laws against fraud and misrepresentation. However, we oppose paternalistic regulations which dictate to consumers, impose prices, define standards for products, or otherwise restrict risk-taking and free choice. We oppose governmental promotion or imposition of the metric system.We oppose all so-called "consumer protection" legislation which infringes upon voluntary trade, and call for the abolition of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. We advocate the repeal of all laws banning or restricting the advertising of prices, products, or services. We specifically oppose laws requiring an individual to buy or use so-called "self-protection" equipment such as safety belts, air bags, or crash helmets.
We advocate the abolition of the Federal Aviation Administration, which has jeopardized safety by arrogating to itself a monopoly of safety regulation and enforcement. We call for privatizing the air traffic control system and transferring the FAA's other functions to private agencies.
We advocate the abolition of the Food and Drug Administration and particularly its policies of mandating specific nutritional requirements and denying the right of manufacturers to make non-fraudulent claims concerning their products. We advocate an end to compulsory fluoridation of water supplies. We specifically oppose government regulation of the price, potency, or quantity able to be produced or purchased of drugs or other consumer goods. There should be no laws regarding what substances (nicotine, alcohol, hallucinogens, narcotics, Laetrile, artificial sweeteners, vitamin supplements, or other "drugs") a person may ingest or otherwise use.
In case you missed it, here's Michele Bachmann's "jobs package":
"if we took away the minimum wage — if conceivably it was gone — we could potentially virtually wipe out unemployment completely because we would be able to offer jobs at whatever level."
Regulators Weaken Dodd-Frank Draft Regs, Allow More Risk
read the rest -- unbelievable/well maybe notThe regulatory agencies in charge of finalizing some of the most controversial rules mandated by the financial reform law are leaning toward making them looser and more favorable to banks and other traders, according to recent reports in the financial press.
Les fruits défendus sont les meilleurs.
Forbidden fruits are the sweetest (literally, best).
REPEAL FEDERAL WORKPLACE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS. Also repeal the last 100 years.good luck poor people--michigan at its best
WINS, THEN LOSES: Leroy Fick, center, won a $2 million lottery game in 2010 -- and helped spark a revamp of Michigan food assistance policy that will leave at least 15,000 families without food stamps as of Oct. 1. Fick is shown in 2010 on the lottery show "Make Me Rich" with hosts Christopher Knight and Beth McLeod. (Courtesy photo/Michigan Lottery)
Ron French/Bridge Magazine
Did one man’s luck turn into a financial catastrophe for Michigan’s poor?
Mention the name Leroy Fick in a room of social service agency directors, and the temperature drops. Heads shake. Shoulders slump. Curses are mumbled.
Fick won the lottery — and 15,000 people will lose their food assistance, as of Oct. 1. That’s the too-simple, but easily digestible, story of Michigan’s welfare reform.
The Auburn man, who continued to receive food stamps after winning about $850,000 in a Michigan Lottery game show in 2010, was held up as an example of abuses of Michigan’s welfare system. Come October, an estimated 15,000 families will lose food stamps when the Department of Human Services changes its eligibility guidelines to exclude Fick — and anyone else with assets greater than $5,000.
Thousands more will lose cash assistance the same week as a result of a new 48-month lifetime limit on aid — and heat assistance after a state-run program lost its source of cash this summer.
Rightly or wrongly, Fisk was cast as the catalyst for the impending catastrophe for the poor. How much is he actually to blame? It depends on who you talk to, but the most likely answer is very little. Yet Fick has become the unlikely villain for both the political right and the left — held up as the symbol of welfare excess by fiscal conservatives and used as a scapegoat for changes to the system by social liberals.
Fick may be the most notorious lucky man in Michigan. After the 59-year-old Auburn resident won $2 million in the lottery game show “Make Me Rich” in June 2010, he continued to collect food stamps, which are financed with federal dollars. He didn’t cheat. He didn’t lie. In fact, he called his Department of Human Services caseworker within a week to say he’d won the lottery and that he figured he needed to turn in his Bridge Card, a state-issued debit card for food and cash assistance.
But Fick still qualified for food stamps, the DHS worker told the lottery winner. Food assistance is based only on income; because Fick had chosen to take a lump-sum payment of about $850,000, instead of monthly payments spread over 20 years, his winnings were considered an asset, not income.
Feeling that luck was continuing to shine on him, Fick kept using food assistance for the next 10 months, driving his newly purchased 2008 Audi TT sports car to and from the grocery store.
The food stamps hit the fan in May, though, when a disgruntled neighbor tattled to a local TV station. Fick didn’t help his cause with his first TV interview. “If you’re going to try to make me feel bad” about using food stamps after winning the lottery, Fick said defiantly, “you’re not going to do it.”
Within days, the story of the food stamp millionaire had spanned the globe. Michigan legislators jumped into action, introducing bills to force lottery winners’ names to be cross-checked with DHS assistance recipients.
“I am not going to sit and debate the ethics of this,” Fick’s attorney, John Wilson, said earlier this year, “but from his standpoint, he did what he was supposed to do. The problem is with the state.”
State officials jumped to fix the Fick problem, and, in the process, they are knocking another estimated 15,000 families off food stamps.
Fresh off serving on a task force examining the underground cash economy in Michigan, DHS Director Maura Corrigan believed some Michiganians were gaming the system, collecting food stamps on a low level of reported income, while figuratively stuffing their mattresses with cash.
Gilda Jacobs, president of the Michigan League of Human Services, scoffs at the notion of a state filled with undocumented cash. “Maybe people are in an underground economy because they can’t make enough money because they can’t find a regular job,” Jacobs said. “They’re not reporting their baby-sitting dollars? Come on! There’s this myth that everyone is out there trying to defraud the system.”
While food stamps are a federal program, each state has some leeway in setting guidelines. Corrigan changed the state’s eligibility guidelines to take into account not only a person’s income, but their assets as well.
(DHS document details eligibility requirements)
A person with $5,000 in assets no longer would receive food stamps. Here’s how it will work:
*A person’s home doesn’t count toward the asset limit, as long as the person lives there; a second house, such as an Up North cottage or rental home, does count.
* The total value of all family vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, all-terrain vehicles and recreational vehicles, cannot exceed $15,000. Every dollar over $15,000 counts against the $5,000 limit.
For example, a family that owned a beat-up 2001 Chrysler Town & Country minivan ($3,500), a decent 2004 GMC Sierra truck ($14,000) and a 15-year-old snowmobile ($950), could have a total vehicle value of $18,400, according to Kelly Blue Book, the same vehicle valuation system the state plans to use (snowmobile value was taken from eBay). The $3,400 in excess of the $15,000 vehicle limit would count against the family’s asset limit – meaning they could have only $1,600 in non-vehicle assets and still qualify for public assistance.
* Certificates of deposit, money market accounts, bank account balances and cash on hand count as assets; retirement accounts are excluded.
“The director wanted to go back to the integrity of the program,” said Colleen Rosso, DHS director of communications. “These are federal dollars, but I’m a federal taxpayer and so are you. We need to keep those dollars for people who really need it.”
DHS sent out about 5,000 letters this month to food stamp recipients telling them they were being removed from the program because their assets were believed to be higher than $5,000; Another 80,000 letters were sent to food stamp recipients who the state isn’t sure about; those recipients must provide proof of assets by Sept. 30 (letters were sent Sept. 20) or be cut off, too.
The state estimates 15,000 families will lose benefits immediately, with more families cut off as recipients undergo their annual case reviews over the next 12 months.
Brian Rooney, director of policy and compliance for DHS, said Michigan crafted its asset-based guidelines off of those of Texas. The Lone Star State has a lower unemployment rate than Michigan, but also has a higher poverty rate. Michigan has the third-highest unemployment rate in the nation, 11.2 percent, and has a poverty rate of 17 percent.
Currently, 33 states do not have an asset test for food assistance, and 15 of the remaining states exclude one family vehicle from assets, according to the Michigan League of Human Services.
MLHS’ Jacobs said she expects the recently unemployed will be impacted the most by the asset test, because they may still have a fairly new car and other niceties of a middle-class life.
Forcing the unemployed to trade in newer cars for older ones in order to get food stamps is counterproductive, Jacobs argues, because older, less reliable cars add another hurdle to finding work.
“It’s going to be a couple of months until we see the real impact,” Jacobs said. “We are going to have a lot of hungry people in this state. We already know a lot of food banks are experiencing way higher usage than they used to …”
Meanwhile, another 11,000 families are expected to lose their cash assistance beginning next week, because of the state’s new 48-month lifetime limit on cash assistance. Social service agencies have been gearing up for an expected flood of phone calls next week from people who don’t understand why their Bridge Cards are empty.
At the same time, a program that helps pay heating bills for 95,000 needy families is on the blink.
In July, the Michigan Court of Appeals struck down the financing system used by Michigan’s Low Income and Energy Efficiency Fund. The Legislature hasn’t created a new funding mechanism.
“The timing (of assistance cuts) couldn’t be worse,” Jacobs said. “You have to look at layer after layer of erosion.
“DHS is operating under these crazy expectations that there is going to be a safety net out there for a soft landing for these people,” Jacobs said, “and it doesn’t exist.”
Donna Hart still on hold w/sprint again. supposedly the contract allows this increase but since i did a 2yr contract via phone no paper contract is given --you can get it yourself on line though. so says louie. the words "the change they made violated the terms and conditions of the contract and represent a material change" did get the customer "service" person to immediately suggest i talk to her supervisor. the supervisor just told me the legislatures of all the states and the FCC allowed the 50 extra cents/phone; all the companies did this (i said i didn't believe that); i can check on line; isn't this 50 cents better than a charge whenever "i turn a page" on the internet (i don't have internet access) or should sprint charge every time the crews go out to repair a tower?. . .i said at $3/phone/month for sprint surcharges i think they are getting enough to cover costs. screw the customer; contracts are worthless.2 seconds ago ·
