from april 2011 sojourners: p 33 "I recently came across a statement by an organization opposed to legalized abortion. The organization claimed rather strongly that "god is pro life" deut 30:19 I dutifully opened my bible to the referenced passage only to find that the words choose life came at the end of moses' address to the israelites just before they were to enter the promised land.. . .moses said in essence that if the people obeyed these instructions they would live well in the land; if they disobeyed them, it would mean death. author goes on to say his point is "not whether one can build a biblical case for or against abortion but that this passage was cited simply because the catch phrase choose life was present not because it had anything to do w/abortion"
The Nation: 0ct 31 p.3 "tale of 2 scandals" talks about solydra and fact that the energy official who pushed projet had blatant conflict of interest--wife's law firm represented the company. author says that gov should have been subsidizing wind not solar.
2nd - keystone + cronyism? Hillary Clinton's former deputy campaign manager paul elliott is now chief lobbyist for trans canada the firm pushing the pipeline. former state dept off david goldwyn is a tar sands lobbyist who testified before congress in favor of keystone. wikileaks cables show he even coached canadian officials on oil sands messaging while he was at state dept.
A predominantly urban population that is contemptuous of the working people of the farms and forests cannot know enough about the country to exercise a proper responsibility for its good use. wendell berry
from ACRES USA dec 2011 - p 4 "Farmers and agronomists throughout the world are alarmed by the growing epidemic of weeds developing a resistance to the herbicide glyphosate, used on GM crops. These superweeds have evolved resistance to glyphosate as a result of the intensive use of this herbicide. From Nov 2007 to Jan 2011 infested acreage in the us has more than quintupled from 2.4 to 12.6 million acres. Monsanto owns at least 90% of GM seeds and crops. not good news. 21 glyphosate-resistant weed species hjave been discovered since 1996 when Roundup Ready soybeans were commercialized. (p9)
nov 30 2011 Michigan Farm News p 14-15:
for first time saw the explanation about the 15 cent christmas check off. actually started by the tree industry to raise money for advertising but Limbaugh "whose website's front page showed Obama's face superimposed into a Grinch like Santa outfit, got it right when he said the proposal was not really a tax. But he couldn't help but foment the manufactured controversy.". . .Growers spent nearly 4 yrs trying to get their members who sell more than 500 trees /yr to assess themselves 15 cents/tree." The growers would be paying the 15 cents and they were following the rules of national checkoff programs. "The conservative media did what it intended to do--make Obama look bad, but the sad reality is that it shut down the Christmas tree checkoff. The idea since 2009 had been for the growers to promote Christmas trees and increase sales" Very surprising to see this in the Michigan Farm News--maybe a first since they tend to support all conservative ideas.
investigate journalist BARBARA EHRENREICH
ever heard of Ledum? person writing in acres took it for lyme disease from a homeopathic source. she also practiced falun dafa www.squidoo.com/Falun-Dafa-Practice.
Acres USA dec 2011--p8 "epa region 10 issued a final permit to shell offshore inc for oil and gas exploration drilling in the alaskan arctic. this air permit is one of several federal authorizations shell needs to explore for oil and gas on the outer continental shelf in the beaufort sea starting in july 2012"
same issue--extended time for comments about proposed rule for mandatory animal traceability --animal disease tracking but the new proposal covers animal tracking even absent clear and documented disease threats
kellogs, quakjer oats (pepsico), barbara's bakery and whole foods market are selling products contaminated with toxic agrichemicals and Monsanto's genetically engineered organisms while promoting them as "natural" (p9 Acres dec 2011). see www.cornucopia.org for more
california's waterways are polluted or impaired. 1.6 of 3 million acres of lakes, bays, welands and estuaries are not meeting water quality goals and 1.4 million still need a pollution clean-up plan. (p10 acres 12-11)
john malone, chairman of Liberty Media, replaced ted turner as largest private landowner in us in 2011 (p11)
We let men take wealth which is not theirs; if the seizure is 'legal' we call it high profits and the profiteers help decide what is legal -- w.e.b. dubois
hortmag.com for great ideas how about garden how to university?
total newsflash to me that mccain was born in panama. where have i been? man i was talking to tonight was telling all his problems w/gov because he too is panama born. he has to show his birth certificate over and over.
berries, chia seeds, broccoli, fish, dark green, beans, nuts,oats, olive oil, pure pomegranate juice.
antioxidants, fiber, electrolytes, phytonutrients, unsaturated fats.
from washington monthly j-feb 2012
supposedly johnson didn't know about cuban missile crisis deal -- only 6 people knew we withdrew our missiles from turkey in exchange for soviet removal from cuba. adlai stevenson had suggested same. saturday evening post depicted kennedy as the tough guy and stevenson as weaking. p5
carolyn leerner head of office of special counsel--brought about reinstatement of security clearance and removal of threat of suspension without pay for franz gayle whistle blower who angered pentagon by pushing too hard for adequately armored vehicles in iraq and afghanistan p5
re fracking creating jobs in wv= charleston gazette discovered the plant chesapeake energy will use to process gas will be located on the golf coast p6
hatch act --forbids federal employees from participating in politics so pa police officer w/bomb sniffing dog funded by homeland told he couldn't run for school board p7
tea party inroads example: gov florida scott signed his budget at a tea party rally instead of in the capitol or senator jim demint and other conservatives holding tea events to defend their stances against raising debt ceiling p12
check tea party budget/33 pages of budget cuts, entitlement cuts and repeal plans/budge to eliminate commerce, education, energy and housing and urban dev. privatize things like fannie mae and freddie mac pLus EPA, transportation security admin and amtrack. kills farm subsidies, ethanol sub, 962 billion defense and what's left of TARP p13
definite desire for demise of epa'S CLEAN AIR ACT
check REINS act: all rules, regs, or mandaters that require citizens, state, or local gov financial expenditures must 1st be approved by the us congress before they can become effective. rand paul sponsored the upper house's version,2/3 vote within 70 days or it is invalid
TRAIN ACT of 234 repub 230 for/this would introduce cost considerations onto rule making and require every econ significant fed regulation be affirmatively approved by congress and signed by pres
DODD-FRANK wall street reform has been opposed by republicans from beginning
p26 "if the story you tell, against all available evidence, is that the financial markets work fine without any serious oversight, then the only logical conclusion is to govern like you are there to serve the banks"
books: lessig's republic, lost: how money corrupts congress and a plan to stop it
kabaservice's rule and ruin the downfall of moderation and the destruction of the repub party from eisenhower to the tea party
kurlantzick's the ideal man about idealistic spy in asia
tom brokaw's the time of our lives
i know--i'm on a roll but this just came urging me to give money to support scott walker in WISCONSIN because (from the email)
"Unions have created a special working class in this country and for too long we've allowed them to hold us hostage. This is America and we operate on a free market economic system. We pay for what we use, we don't take handouts! Unfortunately, momentum is swinging in favor of the unions after they won 3 major battles in 2011."
won't be donating. my questions: a "special" working class is a bad thing? what does "special" denote? what defines "working class"? minimum wage workers? what defines handouts? ss and medicare and medicaid? payments to foster care? the VA? any free medical care like the shriners and other organizations provide? special wishes for dying kids? bridges and roads? certainly pensions and veterans benefits, no fee parks for everyone, no fee 4th of july celebrations, no taxes for churches, tax free organizations, free lunches for the poor, senior food boxes, free help for seniors w/taxes, etc.
House Committee hears testimony restricting union dues collection, union activitiesThe House Oversight, Reform and Ethics Committee heard testimony Tuesday from union members who oppose HB 5023-5026, bills restricting union activities and punishing union members. And all of them pretty much said the same thing--the legislation is punitive, unnecessary, irrelevant and unconstitutional. HB 5025, probably the most damaging piece of anti-union legislation in the package, requires an employees' annual written authorization to have their union dues deducted from their paychecks. Supporters say this bill gives workers more opportunities to control whether money is collected for political activities or other functions--control workers already have, making this legislation just another attack on unions. Union members repeatedly testified that PAC contributions do not come from dues; they are a voluntary contribution. They also stressed that no worker in Michigan is forced to join a union. Workers can opt to pay their fair share which only pays for the salary and benefits the union has negotiated for all workers. The other bills are an attempt to legislate problems that don’t really exist and impose stricter punishment when there already are consequences for an action. HB 5023 fines striking public employees one day’s pay and their union $5,000 for each day of the strike. HB 5024 sets fines on members and their unions for mass picketing which disrupts an employer’s daily business. HB 5026 makes it easier for employers to hire replacements for striking workers. Rep. Timothy Bledsoe (D-Grosse Pointe) and Rep. Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield) joined representatives from the Professional Firefighters, the UAW and the AFL-CIO questioning the need for this legislation when Michigan is facing an economic crisis and needs to be focused on creating jobs. The Committee will hear more testimony next week. Senate education reform package still alive in House Education CommitteeThe Senate’s so-called education reform package (SB 618-624) is still being debated in the House Education Committee. On Wednesday, the Committee took up SB 621, 622, 709 and 710. SB 621 expands the list of providers of classes to private and home-schooled students beyond an ISD to a contiguous district or charter school. SB 622, 709 and 710 expands dual enrollment provisions under the Post-Secondary Enrollment Act. Supporting testimony praised the legislation for offering more educational opportunities to all Michigan students and being fiscally prudent--all at the same time. Committee members, however, repeatedly questioned the financial aspects of the bills--especially the rate being charged students by community colleges and universities. John Duffy, MEA Local 1 President and 6-E Coordinating Council Chairperson, spoke in opposition to the bills, but with a focus on SB 619 which expands cyber schools. Criticizing them for being motivated solely by profit, Duffy used a local example to make his point. "Republicans and the Mackinac Center criticize the Utica superintendent for the $300,000 salary she earns for overseeing the district and its students and administrators. They claim it's a waste of taxpayer dollars. Yet, the CEO of K12, the largest for-profit charter school management company in the country, earns $5 million and for supervising fewer students and taking in record profits at the expense of tax dollars and state aid. And that's not a waste?" Duffy went on to criticize the other pieces of legislation for subsidizing the education of home-schooled and private school students with public school money. "It's an assault on public education.” When asked how much money is needed to fund public schools, Duffy replied, "How about we start with the $1 billion that was taken away from them?"
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poor farm groups--p1 lamenting loss of tax credits for biodiesel fuel and on p 3 not being able to support a Rep bill HR 2487 (rep Flake AZ) which eliminates ag direct payment subsidies
same issue p2 article Food Morality Movement entertains a false prophet--kevin murphy's christians and the new food movement truth in food book "tracks the pervasive reach of political environmentalism and animal rights-driven activism into the daily ministry of numerous christian denominations. (obviously a bad thing i guess) 1 it undercuts the mission to feed the hungry. choosing organic food is fine. choosing local food is fine. but the reality is that neither is a solution to world hunger. 2 it advances some underlying politics churches may not endorse. (i like this one:) environmental politics that underlie the food movement have a long and distinct association with left-leaning liberalism, according to keith woodhouse university of WI at stevens point historian and specialist in environmental history. 3 the radical elements of the food morality movement seek to disrupt the created order as christians understand it. (this order is divinely ordained earth to plants to animals to people to angels and to god--food morality i guess might "dismantle or reverse this order".) 4 by diminishing his greatest creation, the movement ultimately diminishes the creator." (source food-chain communications and the national catholic bioethics quarterly)
went to the food for change summit jan 21 in flint and surprised to see farm bureau guys there--in fact elected county ones like yancho supporting coops for growing, selling, processing area foods. weird since the farm newspaper just had the article about local buying. farm bureau was 1 of the event sponsors
dec 2011 garden gate -- idea of hose over ends of downspouts to keep chipmunks out. mac hates it when the chipmunks go in ours. idea to try.///keep dead heading narrowleaf foxglove to keep them alive and blooming. setting seeds expends plants energy and it may die over winter///russian sage -- leave the stems standing all winter. cut down to 6 inches as soon as spring leaves start sprouting.///plants to buy = floss flower ageratum houstonianum and serbian spruce picea omorika or pendula bruns///getting orchid to rebloom = if there's a sharp stem bend plant has flowered 2x and needs a rest. otherwise sterilize pair of scissors and make a cut above a node about halfway down the stem. great w/cinnamon to prevent disease. new stem should sprout in a few weeks. once done, cut stem down to leaves and wait for next year.
from hightowerlowdown oct 2011 1 of unfulfilled promises included in citizens united ruling is that corp should at least have to disclose to shareholders and the public how much $ they spend on who. congressional repubs have blocked proposals to implement this and obama hasn't issued ad rules to shine light on secret electioneering by corps.
sites to visit: freespeechforpeople.org/movetoamend.org/commoncause.org/rootsaction.org/cpc.grijalva.house.gov (progressive)/publicampaign.org/proclad.org/reclaimdemocracy.org/wethepeoplecampaign.org (also on facebook)
dec 12 2011 the nation p3 --"regular politics in washington now resembles an ecological dead zone where truth perishes in a polluted environment. democrats and republicans shadowbox over their concocted fiscal crisis, neither willing to tell voters the truth, both eager to avoid blame for the damage they are doing to the country." so true
p5 nation up w/chris hayes--unveiled written pitch to american bankers asso from dc lobbying firm clark lytle gedukldig and cranford proposing an 850,000 smear campaign against ows. written by 2 partners w/close ties to speaker boehner memo warned that the burgeoning movement "has the potential to have very long-lasting political, policy and financial impacts on the companies in the center of the bulls eye" while noting that
the bigger concern. . . should be that repubs will no longer defend wall street companies."
book: Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril
seedsavers.org/territorialseed.com
don't plant brassicas where they have been previous 3-4 yrs = cauliflower, broccoli, chinesen cabbage (napa), brussel sprouts, kohlrabi (hort magazine jan-feb 2012 p14) for small heads plant 12-15 inches apart; larger use 18 ins. deep irrigation is best. when about 4 ins mulch rows w/couple ins of salt hay or slightly rotted dead leaves to deter weeds while keeping moisture
p26-27 hort j/f 2012 project budhurst to join www.neoninc.org/budburst. project started 2007 bu national ecological observatory network and chicago botanic garden. all plants covered but 10 common targeted bec of nation wide presence
petition for labeling of GE foods see justlabelit.org
nawebstore.com natural awakenings webstore
flint watershed coalition = flintriver.org
schreiner's iris gardens
lee valley garden tools
fancy leaf caladiums
www.agrp-dec/esm
movie hugo--has footage from old George Melies films used. sounds wonderful but who knows
www.warresisters.org
www.hornblowapparel.bigcartel.com (the system is not broken. it's fixed)
from Michigan Good Food-- #1 we have the 2nd most diverse ag production in the us and yet 59% of residents in the 83 counties live in a place that has inadequate access to the food they need for a healthy daily diet #2 it is often easier to buy food from another continent than from a farmer in or near your community #3 consumer interest in local and farm direct foods is growing
2007 average farmer age = 56mi loses average of 30,000 acres of farmland each yearnearly 59% of mi residents live in "underserved areas"
about 65% of adults and 30% of youth grades 9-12 are overweight or obese
14% of farmers' markets accept bridge cards
costs about 2.90 to prepare a school meal but fed reimbursement for this free meal is 2.57
costs from 92 to 1600 per far for usda food safety good ag practices and good handling practices
see www.michiganfood.org
jan 2012 ACRES magazine--seed libraries across US
1--www.ecologycenter.org/BASIL berkeley ca
www.seedlibrary.org accord ny
www.nativeseeds.org tuscon az
www.richmondgrows.org richmond ca
www.slola.org los angeles ca
www.westcliffegrows.weebly.com westcliffe co
town and country jan 12 article by author anthony brandt telling about being sherman fairchild's historian (aviation pioneer founder of 2 fortune 500 cos and largest individual stockholder of ibm which his father had formed from 3 smaller cos in 1911) he stood next to fairchild in the aisle of a plane going from washington to ny while fairchild lobbied robert kennedy on a gov contract. they had lunch with robert lehman (1960's) "what was most notable about the experience was that the men at the top lived untouched by the world below them. during all the conversations , all the meeting i had w/these lords of the universe, not a word was said about protests, marches, kent state, political assassinations, black power, or police riots. they clearly did not feel threatened by any of it; their positions within the system were secure, and nothing was really going to change, particularly the power structure." p78
p94 article the groves of eternal youth--author talks about health food crazes like sea buckthorn tea, pomegranate, baobab, coconut oil, goji berries, kombucha, mangosteen, acai, product 19, resveratrol (grape skins) and sun chlorella (freshwater sea algae).
skype.com
google voice at google.com
ichat at apple.com
yahoo voice at voice.yahoo.com
aarp has music page to listen while on computer aarp.org/entertainment/music/
As a result, at the height of the economic downturn, the poverty rate in the black community was 27 percent, compared with 9.9 percent for whites.
As a result, if you were to lay down a map of the nation's most toxic or polluted land and lay on top of that a map of all the most black, Latino, and Native American communities in the country, you would find a nearly one-to-one correlation.
As a result, the United States incarcerates black men at a rate 6.6-times higher than that of white men.
So, my answer to the question of whether America has become a post-racial society is this: African-Americans have been completely free for just 47 years.
Our nation still has work to do. Race will continue to matter in the United States until we take active, structural steps to counter the more than 300 years of racialized politics and policies — more than 300 years of sin.
Lisa Sharon Harper is the Director of Mobilizing at Sojourners. She is also co-author of Left, Right and Christ: Evangelical Faith in Politics and author of Evangelical Does Not Equal Republican ... or Democrat.
ANT KILLER: 1/4 cup confectioners sugar/1 tablespoon borax
FUNGICIDE: gallon water w/ 2 TBS baking soda, 2-3 drops palmolive spray on roses, squash, etc
try cayenne pepper on hostas, flowers, around base of soil
common spring herbs in MI: stinging nettle, dandelion, sorrel, watercress, birch twigs, common chickweed, wild asperagus, japanese knotweed, for cow cress, cattail or cossack asparagus, sweetflag root, wild leek, wild garlic, hops, jewel weed (for poison ivy), sour dock
tansy may get rid of wasps
don't use vermiculite w/herbs
herbs are sensitive to exhaust, need sun and well drained soil
buy short compact herbs
no manure, no potting soil
for seed germination use poor soil
see list of 26 native plants attractive to bees and insect natural enemies: www.nativeplants.msu.edu/results.htm
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