august 2011

just tried to renew license plate on line and of course can't. great system.


from p34 maryjanesfarm = Monsanto continues to report that genetically modified Bt corn (in most all non organic corn) is safe for humans because the toxin in it that kills insects cannot survive the human digestive system. Reproductive Toxicology reports "that in blood samples of 39 pregnant women who ate conventional diets, 93% of women and 80% of fetuses had the toxin in their systems." will have to see if this canadian report is available on line. title i believe is Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified
foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada
Aziz Arisa, Samuel Leblanc

same page = estimated that we have removed as much as 90% of large predatory fish such as shark, swordfish, and cod from the oceans and that 70% of the world's fisheries are now being harvested at capacity. Monterey Bay Aquarium publishes Seafood Watch to help choose fish that are caught sustainably. guide at : www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/download.aspx (link viable)

p33 = sign the organic consumers association's truth in labeling petition at www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/action.cfm. there is a petition to sign there too.
aware that 70 to 80% of the non organic processed foods e buy contain GM ingredients? want labels telling this?
book to read: the audacity of genetically modified foods by bruce robinson 2011 (could not locate book in county library nor in Mel)

lots of toads at dad's, 4 different age groups i think. they have made mowing a real challenge but usually they have jumped out of the way. today i did have to stop and talk to 2 to hurry them on. even 1 frog. of course a 4 speed mower that really has 1 gear and a self propelled mower that does move by itself when i mow the driveway--these help keep toads safe. as far as i know no toad has been slaughtered. at first i thought this as great environmentally but what is now politically correct is NOT saving the environment, so rethinking this i have decided it is like 1 of the plagues in egypt--toads toads toads. they are cute but mr frog was cutest. only saw him once.

cannot believe the gogo squeez applesauce to go is a great idea. handy maybe but what a waste of packaging.

newly purchased johnson and johnson floss--made in the dominican republic. why can't america make it? cheaper to do it there and ship it here? not buying that logic. and how about a prescription from kroger--made in india.

got new hedge trimmers, black and decker, quality made in china. labeled as "hardended steel blades provide a soild cut". yeh, pretty close so it's ok


neighbor with a 19 year mortgage relationship with chase bank is moving out and letting the bank have the house. he owes 50,000 on a house now worth 40,000 and chase doesn't seem to want to work with him. surprise there? i have the feeling from what he said that he paid about 115,000 for it; lost his job a few years ago when the business went to costa rica, has had a low paying job since (no health care) which even though not great $ he likes, used his 401k and savings up since the latest job. good luck chase---i'm sure they'll write off the loss, get a tax break, maybe resell the house sometime and make $. way to go chase. oh yes, i forgot to say: must be his fault, personal responsibility needed, at least he has a job, blah blah blah

prevention magazine: "cool-fired power plants are the largest man-made source of mercury emissions in the US and once the neurotoxin enters the water, it's practically impossible to eliminate from the food chain" You can have your hair tested for $20 at www.sierraclub.org/mercury


gray water -- ways to reuse grey water see greywateraction.org

odd mole? www.skinofmine.com lets you upload a photo of your mole then analyze size, color, and borders. if it looks questionable you can get in touch with an online dr/cost 50$

michigan farmer newspaper: localizing dairy products may not be best for environment.
"a new study finds it's not always economically or environmentally viable for multi-product industries to focus heavily on local sales.....we find that increased localization reduces assembly costs while increasing processing and distribution costs. the weighted average source distance for some products decreased at the expense of increases in other products." (p18,21) cornell study "localization may not be the best venue to reduce carbon footprint in the case of dairy"


also from michigan farmer: rep don young R-AK recently refused to accept an award from humane society and the humane society legislative fund that would have honored his work for animals in 2010. he said "this organization has absolutely nothing to do with animal welfare. instead, they prey on the emotions of big-hearted americans, they flash images of abused animals on our tv screens to raise money that will eventually go to pay their salaries and pensions, not to helping better the lives of these animals, they run anti-hunting and anti-trapping campaigns and are of the same cloth as PETA and other extremist organizations. HSUS are hypocrites, plain and simple, and i will not join them by accepting this award. . . . i can only guess that i was to receive this award due to ny support of the wildlife without borders program which develops wildlife management and conservation efforts to maintain global species diversity, that program is true conservation; what this group wants is preservation. to accept this award would be supporting their manipulative ways and misguided agenda, and i want no part of that."

june 2011 France Amerique: an article about fracking -- general info and events in the US. world reserved of natural gas in impermeable rocks = 4 to 5 times the amount of conventional gas (90 years vs a 30 year supply). the US is the major producer of natural gas with 500,000 wells in 31 states and fracking supplies about half of the gas. pour laisser le gaz s'echapper, il faut faire exploser la roche en injectant de tres grandes un puits ne peut etre quantites d'eau, de sel, et de produits chimiques, a plus de 2 000 metres de profondeur. sous l'enorme pression le gaz remonte a la surface. chaque frack necessite 15 millions de litres d'eau. une partie seulement de l'eau est recuperee le reste (10-15%) infiltre directement les nappes phreatiques.
un puits ne peut etre fracture que 14 fois. il peut y avoir un puits tous les 500 metres. other than the amazing amount of water used it was also a surprise to hear that according to the chambre des respresentants, between 2005 and 2009 wells were injected with 2500 chemicals, 29 of which are cancer causing. large groups like exxon mobil are buying up small companies --alors que le gaz naturel se vend autour de $ 4/gigajoule mais coute $ 6/gigajoule a produire.

article about bessie coleman la premiere pilote noire de l'histoire en 1921.

film = sarah's key book by tatiana de rosnay Elle s'appelait sarah


ACLU in action: in TN legislators introduced bill to prevent any instruction or materials discussing sexual orientation other than heterosexuality

SD considered a bill that would have provided legal protection to husbands or boyfriends for killing medical personnel involved in a woman's abortion

ARKANSAS legislators entertained a bill that would have allowed health care providers, ed programs and others to opt out of providing any services at any time for any religious reason

AL enacted anti-immigrant law the requires proof of citizenship for children enrolling in kindergarten and grade school, makes it a crime to knowingly rent housing to an illegal and authorizes the state to create its own state immigration police force

NM legislators considered a bill that would have mandated drug testing to receive public assistance such as unemployment benefits


Sojourners sept-oct 2011:

sites: www.EntertheBible.org
p. 10 irrational discourse article--will we control high US health care costs or just shif them to seniors? ryan's proposals would double out of pocket costs to seniors over the coming decade while enriching private insurance cos. even if medicare seems expensive, remember it payys 2,200 for an average hospital stay almost 50% less than the US average
syncrude's aurora tar sands
movies: solaris, the tree of life, insignificance, blow out, kes, super 8 (i liked)


nonpetroleum plywood -- uswda forest products lab in madison have a new soy milk tofu protein based glue with supposedly superior strength and water resistance--let's hope (from hobby farms p 60 j-feb 2011)

coupon sites: bargainstobounty.com/centsablemomma.com/couponproblog.com/couponmom.com

MMAP = mi medicare/medicaid assistance program has counselors available to help understand medicare/caid, identify resources for prescription drug assistance and help a part d plan, review your supplemental needs, compare policies help w/claims and refunds

MiCAFE--serves at risk seniors for nutrition ed, food assistance and income support

Commodity supplement food program and TeFAP program--food distribution sites/guide lines for income eligibility

from journal august 21 2011 - "the # of children relying on public insurance in Mi jumped from 23% in 2001 to 39 % in 2010. at the same time the # of doctors accepting public insurance has dropped significantly making it almost impossible for many families to access health care. as a result, many end up in hospitals for preventable illnesses, that hurts everybody by increasing health care costs across the board".

AARP magazine sept-oct 2011: p 79
Bernie Sanders I-VT: I get a little bit disturbed when I hear folks...talking about SS is going broke...We have to reduce benefits we have to privatize it, we have to raise the retirement age. That is all total nonsense.
Alan Simpson, former senator R-WY: We've reached a point now where (SS is) like a milk cow with 310 tits.
Ron Paul R-TX: I'd let (young people) out--just get out of the program, opt out! Restore your freedom, demand your rights to take care of yourself, And then take care of the elderly who are dependent--don't put them out in the streets.

thermionic conversion -- investigate
carbon nanotubes -- standford university research using special ink that turns ordinary fabric even paper into an energy storage device. called eTextiles

books to read: merchants of doubt naomi oreskes and erik conway
the climate war eric pooley

organic flowers lacking but elzinga and loeksema greenhouse in portage MI has been growing more of its flowers organically each year. customers not asking for that and they aren't advertising it either. see the quest for organic ornamentals p 34 organic gardening april/may 2011. organic fertilizers are more expensive than synthetic ones--regulatory requirements for pest control=if snails found in certified snail free nurseries, they must treat any found snails.

p80 asparagus water wars: Peru where more than half of America's asparagus comes from, since 2002 the industry has extracted water faster than it can be recharged, giving the region the fastest rate of aquifer depletion in the world. the Michigan farmer paper has discussed the gov allowing importation of Peruvian asparagus harming us production. hard to think it's cheaper to import it. west of mi used to be large source of asparagus.

goldman sachs got $10 billion for itself and probably a lot more in backdoor subsdidies from the federal reserve. not they have given 1000 employees notice that their jobs are going to singapore where cheaper employees are available (p3 hightower aug 2011) pretty funny isn't it?

also from hightower's lowdown: re supreme court-----"in case after case the 5 hard-core republicans have been chopping furiously at the hard-earned legal rights of workers, consumers, voters and others who dare to challenge the power of big business elites to reign over us, both politically and economically." remember these names and hope for their demise: roberts, alito, kennedy, scalia, thomas. let them reap the evil they have sown.

according to michigan farm news feb 28, 2011: "the basic underlying rationale driving much of environmental policy making is that human beings are a blight on the earth, and that the only way to preserve the planet is to make sure people are actively prevented from using resources, said robert gordon, senior advisor for strategic outreach for the heritage foundation, speaking at an issues conference at the am. farm bureau federation's 92nd annual meeting. otherwise, or so this viewpoint dictates, humans will inevitably degrade and destroy those resources. but what should also stick out, gordon said, is that this rationale is deeply flawed". read more p.2/also investigate the heritage foundation.

michigan farm news aug 15, 2011: p.4 a USDA (economic research service) report says farmers prefer biotech varieties of soybeans, cotton and corn over their conventional and organic counterparts. the report, "Adoption of genetically engineered crops in the US" says in 2011 the use of biotech soybeans rose to 94%, cotton to 90%, and corn to 88%. why do i not feel content with these statistics?

farmers support a new bridge to canada for transportation of goods--it's a "sweet smelling opportunity to help get MI back on its feet according to farm bureau officials". p1 july 15, 2011

March 30, 2011: p1 article Farmers teach unions lessons in unity "unity can survive without a union, but a union cannot survive without unity....you could say we have a union if that means we get together and negotiate in the price discovery process".

canning -- lowescreativeideas.com/extras
crafts --etsy.com

Michigan funding for the arts in 2002 = $25 million. this year = $2.3 million. Moral of the story = Synder might just as well cut that 2.3 million and pass it on to business and corporations. (from natural awakenings sept 2011)

www.anniesheirloomseeds.com
red dragon equipment supposedly us made--site for sale


food at the frontline--saving seed on a workldwide scale while rejecting gmo crops is our best insurance for a safer future -- vandana shiva

june 2011

book ideas: belly of the beast and the wolves at the door by judy pearson



courage:

courage is doing what you're afraid to do. there can be no courage unless you're scared -- edward vernon rickenbacker

it is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare -- twain

when we are afraid we ought not to occupy ourselves with endeavoring to prove that there is no danger, but in strengthening ourselves to go on in spite of the danger -- mark rutherford

courage is the power to let go of the familiar -- raymond lindquist

courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear --ambrose redmoon

each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing -- eleanor roosevelt


read about a newish game called pickleball in the natural awakenings magazine. sounds interesting--wonder who plays? invented in '65 by congressman joel pritchard supposedly. recently added to senior olympics. start with underhand serve diagonally, games go to 11 pts, played on badminton court, net at 3ft, play closer to net, wooden paddles and a wiffleball.

from the may 9 2011 issue of nation, p 6: article "Teachers Aren't the Enemy"
"The attack has diverse roots, and comes not only from Republicans. Groups like Democrats for Education Reform have dedicated substantial resources to undermining teachers unions. With Race to the Top, the Obama administration has put its weight behind a reform agenda featuring charter schools, which employ mostly nonunion labor as its centerpiece. A disturbing bipartisan consensus is emerging that favors a market model for public schools that would abandon America's historic commitment to providing education to all children as a civil right. This model would make opportunities available largely to those motivated and able to leave local schools; treat parents as consumers and children as disposable commodities that can be judged by their test scores; and unravel collective bargaining agreements so that experienced teachers can be replaced with fungible itinerant workers who have little training, less experience and no long-term commitment to the profession." Authors are from New York U and U of New York.

same issue p 4 on policing pregnancy: women being jailed when unborn child died, several interesting cases cited

onearth summer 2011 issue:' ABC/Washington Post poll last June found 71% of respondents believed the federal gov should curb carbon dioxide pollution from cars and power plants". where then the politicians who used to support that view but now do not? the article suggests . . "reversals look to be nothing other than a stampede to endear themselves to Tea Party hard-liners whose extremist agenda included last spring's attempts in Congress to cripple the EPA, an agency created 4 decades ago by overwhelming majorities in both houses of Congress and signed by Nixon."

US Chamber of Commerce told the EPA in a recent filing that there's no need to worry because "populations can acclimatize to warmer climates via a range of behavioral, physiological, and technological adaptations". p23

same issue p. 44: article The Corn Mob discusses benefits to corn growers and ethanol blenders when corn goes into ethanol which gets a tax credit of 45 cents for every gallon they mix with
gasoline. i think this was either eliminated or is in discussion about eliminating credits--unhappy people will result. ..."although corn growers don't receive subsidies directly, the ethanol industry is a reliable and expanding market, with higher demand translating into higher prices"

the corn for ethanol is not the corn people eat. . an increased demand for feed corn drives up the cost of business, dairy, meat and poultry producers. . . ditto prices for chain restaurants like for nuggets and big macs. see http://switchboard.nrdc.org

The Progressive Populist June 15, 2011: p. 3 Chevron's CEO "I don't think people want shared sacrifice from oil corporations. I think they want shared prosperity."

about requests for all emails with certain words like scott walker, madison, rachel maddow, etc from the machinac center -- 3 profs at 3 different michigan universities -- check names koch, devos, princes and walton who are funding many right wing people and so called think tanks.

p 7 GOP chokes on own Medicare Kool-Aid: Obama's words: The GOP roadmap "asks Americans to accept that even though we can't afford to care for seniors and poor children, we can somehow afford more than $1 trillion in new tax breaks for the wealthy."


p. 9 Feds to States: 'Drop Dead'--suggestion here to take our deposits out of wall street banks and put the $ in state-owned banks = sounds like a good idea. or use a local credit union.

p. 13 Deconstructing a Paul Ryan Sound Bite: "taxpayers at america's tippy top--taxpayers with the nations' 400 highest incomes--have seen the share of income they pay in federal income tax drop from 51.2% of their income in 1955 to 18.1% in 2008".

research Philip morris international (altria) -- owns 7 of the world's top 15 cigarette brands under auspices of Kraft Foods, non tobacco holdings are cookies, cool whip, coffee, cadbury. . . see kraftfoodscompany.com and search for brands.


loved (hms pinafore):

I always voted at my party's call
and i never thought of thinking for myself at all

the june atlas meeting again fit the monday night baseball, friday night fights and a 3 ring circus moniker. they voted to continue membership in the township/municipal organization and pay the extra for insurance and then heard a surprise letter read by the clerk from wendall kelly naming 4 people who should not be on the police funding board. the chair they did not want--he went to the state board because he didn't believe he should have to pay the police assessment the board imposed. he crossed them? wow. read the principles of a trustee (i read these to the board in 2008 when the new supervisor took office--they don't like her--but they like ammon i guess (issues with destroyed hard drive ignored--rumor has it they all knew about it anyway. similar event recently in goodrich city. how suspect is that--coincidence?) need to write what to say at the july meeting about these "cons"

july 2011 sojourners p 17-21: "A Web of Power" summarizes the use of online tools to transform social change.

"Stranger in a Strange Land" p 26-29 about work of intelligence people especially in iraq. "According to news reports, Manning had a transformative conscientious awakening when he found himself responsible for the unjust imprisonment of 15 Iraqi activists. When he determined that the pamphlets they were distributing were not terrorist tracts, but instead highlighted corruption in the al-Maliki government, Manning took the info directly to his commanding officer. . .Manning also allegedly discovered classified footage taken from Army Apache helicopters during 2007 air to ground attack near Baghdad that killed 2 Reuters correspondents and at least 10 others and wounded 2 children. . . (Evan Knappenberger, WA)

film REJOICE AND SHOUT the story of gospel music
Submarine
Project Nim
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

p40 "The Ayn Rand Makeover": "Anyone who has so far managed to avoid Rand's work or her disciples should know that in her novels and essays Rand expounded a world view dubbed Objectivism that can be summed up as a pastiche of free-market libertarianism and cartoon Nietzscheanism. To the Randian, there is no God but self, and self will and pursuit of self interest is the only virtue."

p. 9 Last year, Manhattan hedge fund manager John Paulson took home $.9 billion in pay. Before the crash, Paulson helped inflate the housing bubble by designing junk mortgage-backed securities for Goldman Sachs--and then profited from the pop by betting that those very securities would fail. Yet instead of being run out of business, last year he made about $1.5 billion more than the federal food stamp program spent in all of New York City. p.9 July 2011 Sojourners "The Safety Net Frays" p8-9

books to read: Indignez-vous by stephane hessel available in french or english and Cultures of war by john dower



from the Nation p 5 april 11. 2011 Michigan Monarchy by John Nichols: Jefferson outlined the most egregious acts of King George III "For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever" Jefferson argued in the Declaration of Independence, the king was engaged in "the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States." Under the mid-March law passed in MI, the governor "essentially has financial martial-law powers. If he determines that a city or school district is experiencing financial difficulties he can replace its elected officials with managers who are permitted under the law to assume all their powers." They "can be private individuals allied with the governor or even corporations with consulting contracts. They can cancel local labor contracts, cut or eliminate social services and even begin processes of dissolving existing units of government and forcing mergers of cities and school districts". Would you not assume that Snyder has assumed the powers of a monarch?

any reason the NFL doesn't want the players to see the league's financial records? is this what the lockout is really about? wouldn't surprise anyone. "The owners refused to open the books, offering instead "a single sheet of paper with 2 numbers on it". This single sheet would be available to the union only after being vetted by an independent 3rd party". p 6 the Nation april 11, 2011 Players are also asking to choose their own doctors--

the Nation p 11-15 How Wall Street Crooks Get Out of Jail Free
The article points out the lack of government interest/desire to prosecute Wall Street and the resulting surmise that big business/Wall Street can get away with fraud with no repercussions. "The technical difficulties in making a case for criminal prosecutions are real enough, given the complexities of modern finance. But the government's lack of response to enormous wrongdoing reflects a deeper conflict of values. Will society's sense of right and wrong prevail, or will corporate capitalism's amoral need to maximize profit. So fare the marketplace appears to be winning. Deferring prosecution was made standard practice by George W Bush's Justice Department, which over eight years deferred or canceled some 108 prosecutions. Important corporations that have settled without a public trial include Boeing, AIG, AOL, Halliburton, BP, Health South, Daimler Chrysler, Wachovia, Merrill Lynch, Pfizer, UBS and Barclays Bank.

When NJ Gov Chris Christie was a US Attorney, he approved a series of deferred prosecution agreements and handed out sinecures to political pals--a lucrative lawyer's job of monitoring corporations. In one settlement Christie ordered Bristol-Myers-Squibb to finance an endowed chair at Seton Hall law school, Christie's alma mater.

The confusion of values starts with the fictitious premise that the corporation is a person, for purposes of law. . . But corporations are not mortal beings, of course, and unlike people, they can live forever. The language of 'corporate person-hood' is really a slick way of saying property rights come before people's rights. . . for many years people have been led to believe that corporate good fortune is synonymous with general prosperity. As broadly shared prosperity is steadily withdrawn, people may rise up and demand serious reforms." but i'm not holding my breath.


Taking Aim at the Pentagon Budget p, 22-30:
the so called Iron Triangle = pentagon, military contractors and lobbyists, and hawks on the congressional armed services committees

"the biggest chunk of the military budget is for administration, overhead, salaries and benefits which make up about 42%. Tricare=insurance/health care. "Tricare absorbs about 1/10 of all pentagon spending and its costs gave skyrocketed from 19 billion 10 years ago to 53 billion today". wow

june 26--day of tandem skydive at ray mi. supposed to go fri but rainy. sun was a great day, warm but not hot. 13,000 ft and free fall to about 10,000; free fall of about 167ft/sec, great view of land. everyone should try it but . . . nick on plane w/me; i think he was on 1st flight by self but had an accompanying diver. same with the other guy, 2nd by self maybe.

JustAnswer.com -- site where you can pose a question, get a reply, pay answering attorney.

high end shopping = onekingslane.com, jossandmain.com, ruelala.com, giltgroup.com

shoedazzle.com
theoutnet.com

insurance helps: having financial problems, contact the patient advocate foundation (copays.org) and cancercare (cancercare.org)
if claims are denied, don't give up. speak to a supervisor, get doctor help, patient representatives at hospitals, read the book i mentioned in an earlier post, get a friend to go with you to help take notes at appointments, meetings, etc

who knew bird nests are protected? hobby farm home sept-oct 2011, p84, had an article about having a nest in your possession. Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, "it's illegal to disturb the next of any native bird without a permit. It's also illegal to collect or have in your possession live native birds (adults or young), bird feathers, nests or eggs; to incubate wild-bird eggs; to keep nests or eggs, even for "show and tell" purposes; or to have road-killed birds in your possession without a permit". The law also applies to transporting, trapping or killing other birds that may be nuisances like chickadees and doves; non native birds and exotics are exempted--like canadian geese, house sparrow, starlings, domestic pigeons, etc. It's also illegal to move an active nest without a permit from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and sometimes from your state. No permit needed to scare or herd migratory birds other than endangered or protected ones; fines up to 6 mos in jail and fine up to 15,000.

MAY 2011

Storey's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees by Sanford and Bonney, Storey Publishing 978-1-60342-550-6 -------thinking of getting bees. there's a meeting next week about beekeeping at the mg office in flint. hope to go
went to the midmichigan beekeepers meeting in june at richfield township office, first thurs
at 7. pretty interesting, but sounds like work too. guess lester used to keep bees

difference between azaleas and rhododendrons? usually azaleas have 5 stamens; rhodos have 10 or more. always wondered what a way to tell them apart was.

sites to visit: www.grainmaker.com (expensive!)
www.tashatudorandfamily.com//www.maryjanesfarm.org//www.mypetchicken.com//www.adoptapet.com//www.organicconsumers.org//www.eatwild.com//www.organicconsumers.org/gefood/SmallWonders.cfm//

As the month progresses, the destruction to ed continues.



Really enjoyed reading the recent Urban Farm magazine and MaryJanesFarm. Both filled with tryable ideas, resources, recipes, advice, etc. In fact may get subscriptions to 1 or both.




Michigan Farm News--always fun to read. Articles often against things or for but the opposite view taken for whatever affects farmers. I know give and take is necessary but it sounds hypocritical to be against oil consumption or the EPA or "entitlements" but want corn subsidized and want corn used for fuel. p14 April 30 2011: "The solution to keep gas prices lower is for American motorists to have an alternative to gasoline. That alternative is available today--in homegrown, renewable ethanol. Barriers to the market have slowed development, and Broin urged senators to block attempts to prevent 15% ethanol--recently approved by EPA after extensive testing..." [Broin is an ethanol produces, CEO of POET, the largest ethanol producer in the world.]

p.8 same issue: Lugar bill would end sugar program. this article analyzes why is would be bad to support legislation introduced by Sen Lugar (R) that would repeal the US sugar program and allow large food manufacturers to buy sugar on the world market." the author believes the Competitive Enterprise Institute has been influenced by a powerful group of sugar users. Any co using sugar pays more than 2x the world market price for sugar because of a hidden tax--the result of sugar price fluctuations in the 70's and then Katrina in 2005. Easy to see/understand both sides of problem in this article but "opening world markets woiuld create an uneven playing field, just like in the 1970's."

same issue--interesting fact for me to know: p.3 "under current law, which will now remain in effect, IRS Form1099-Misc must be filed when a person engaged in a trade or business pays $600 or more to a non-employee for services performed during the calendar year. Rental payments are included in the reporting requirement, but payments made to corporations are generally excluded. The business making the payment must provide a taxpayer id # for each payee. A copy of the 1099 form must be furnished to both the person providing the service and to the IRS." probably why jelinek pays 500.

green homes info: bluhomes.com/nrdc

onearth.org/gallery
onearth.org/media
welovebirds.org
legacygifts@nrdc.org or www.nrdc.org/giftplanning

de la Normandie a la Californie, une vie transatlantique par Robert Boudesseul


from the Nation april 4, 2011:

My Monster, My Self/p.27/book The Shallows What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr, Norton and Hamlet's BlackBerry A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age by William Powers, Harper
...But now reading has been supplanted, as Carr puts it, by "the speedy, superficial skimming of information" culled from the links generated by a Google search, which discourages "any deep, prolonged engagement with a single argument, idea, or narrative." Whereas once we nurtured our private selves by communing with literature, now we have only a "library of snippets," Carr says , in which "the strip-mining of 'relevant content' replaces the slow excavation of meaning." This is no accidental outcome. Asa Marshall McLuhan, whom both writers draw upon heavily, famously said, "The medium is the message." This medium's message is, as Powers puts it, "to avoid deep immersion."

The internet, Powers thinks, embodies a "very particular philosophy of technology. It can be summarized in a sentence: It's good to be connected, and it's bad to be disconnected."
When E.M. Forster urged us to "only connect," he didn't have in mind the kind of boundless promiscuity the Internet forces upon us, in which connection is mediated not by flesh but by screens. Constantly in the digital crowd, we are deprived of depth and substance, even when we don't know it. You may be sipping a Starbuck's latte in your chinos, but clicking on those top links, your sense of what is important conforms to collective norms as surely as if you were wearing a gray flannel suit to your corporate office. Indeed, you might be better off at the mercy of IBM or GM, because at least then you could see the disturbing truth lurking under the "idealization of maximum connectedness": that with every Google search or friend request or tweet or stolen look at your BlackBerry, you are that much more firmly plugged into the collective and that much less in touch with yourself."

Carr is polemical too, but his animus is largely directed toward the "Church of Google", not only for the way it forces us to join the congregation but how it calls us to worship at the altar of efficiency. In a clever and apt historical reference, he reminds us of Frederick Taylor, whose time-motion studies helped industrialists squeeze the last drop of productivity out of their assembly-line workers. "What Taylor did for the work of hand," Carr writes, "Google is doing for the work of the mind"---using its knowledge of our habits of mind to make us ever more efficient grazers of information."

same issue: article on the next big housing crisis? p. 24--second-lien mortgages, banks too big to fail are allowed to conceal losses by allowing these banks to keep large portfolios of 2nd lien mortgages on their books at close to pre-bubble values. today, banks are carrying these portfolios at 85 to 93 cents on the dollar when depending on their date of issue and other factors open-end 2nd lien loans are actually worth 40-60 cents.

while gas was 3.98 here for 3 days in lafayette it stayed at 3.69 at bp. next week i bought it at meijers for 3.79 and next day bingo 4.19. today i heard that the us average was around 3.78--must be michigan is rich and has to pay more--or maybe someone is getting kick backs.

from hobby farms p 104 may/june issue: www.farmland.org, www.privatelandownernetwork.org, www.lta.org/policy/advocates, http:findalandtust.org to locate an alliance member land trust //info on land trusts, conservation easements and land conservation (www.lta.org) easement tax incentives, etc

build a pond = www.hobbyfarms.com/projectpond
attract wildlife = /projectwildlife
income = /projectmarket
fencing = projectfencing

small cows: kerry and dexter associations/ also miniature jerseys
cool electric netting fencing = www.premier1supplies.com in iowa
plants native to zone: www.wildflower.org/plants

thin apples to 1 nickel sized fruit per cluster to equal 1 fruit/5-8 inches

blue jade corn www.seedsavers.org

www.mthealthy.com hatchery for chickens, game birds, ducks, turkeys

pv windowpanes from refeel spa in italy, polysolar lim in the uk or solyndra inc in ca/ www.solyndra.com

April

The month starts with 2 newspaper articles about people having fund raisers for a brain tumor patient, 34, working 2 jobs, no insurance and then a young boy whose family needs help. There are 2 ways to view these 2, probably more actually; but it is sad if insurance is not available or affordable. If it was an intentional non purchase? Tough luck? Personally, I believe everyone should have access to insurance, insurance that doesn't cost an extravagant amount. Of course, if not wanted--then don't ask for help or fund raisers and die?


Read a message from the ACLU to thank my rep Scott for voting for the state bill to allow 1 non related person on insurance. What? Crazy I thought? But probably not since he has a baby with a female he's not married to--yet--and maybe that baby needs insurance. How hypocritical--but maybe that's a Republican or general politician characteristic. This same rep just introduced a bill that "would fine the MEA $5,000 per teacher for each full or partial day of a teacher strike and strip a striking teacher's license" (flint journal, april 1 p6). Know that strikes are already illegal in MI and a fine exists; I like the stripping of the license though. Nice touch. Is this concerted effort to get rid of all unions and most rights won by unions which benefit everyone on the right track? Welcome to the midwest--MI, WI, OH, IN, and your state next. Paul Scott is a 2nd term rep who is already head of the House Education Committee. Looks like Engler's blood continues to run through good Republicans.


How about states quitting a federal stimulus program offering extended unemployment benefits. MO just did that; MI, AK, and FL just cut back on money going to the unemployed although targeting state benefits.


Less for people with little: more for corporations. GE paid no taxes this year. How extraordinary and evil. People need to do something before it's too late--the death of the middle and lower classes is progressing nicely.


monday:
went to GFS to price gather and ended up getting a box of cookies to bake. asked at the check out where they were made since the box only had the distributed by phrase. clerk checked computer, asked for help several times, and finally they came up with WI. i believe the man called the # on the box. shouldn't we know where food stuffs come from? why made for or distributed by? while waiting, had time to check stuff by the counter. pace salsa--distributed by/mars candy--distributed by. did have conversations with a woman who shops vg's since it is family owned and lady whose friend out west said gas was still cheap there at 3.49/gal.

home on SE corner of irish and bristol where they destroyed the mini swamp with all the cat tails now has standing water. what a surprise. also a surprise was the pump/siphon with hose running from the pond to the drain. is it legal to run your pond water to the drains? what a pretty swamp it was with the birds a few years ago/what an eye sore environmentally destroyed water hole now. progress?

tues april 12: went to progressive meeting where we watched Inside Job. seen it before but forgot how pissed i got the 1st time and just as mad this time. to see the deregulation being allowed or ignored, to see which people were on bank boards or CEO's or in the fed reserve--and then to see those people involved in bush sr's, clinton's, bush jr and now obama's administration destroying america in the name of corporations. unbelievable. no difference between repub or dem, none. we have reached a corporatocracy and the damage done i think is almost beyond fixing. derivatives, leverage (went from 1 to 3 up to 1 to 33), no regulations, obscene ceo pay etc. may god get every one of those involved.


wednesday april 13/meijers today--no one in pet dept, no one in jewelry (usually isn't so that's not new), no one in garden area when i wanted to buy berry pack. went inside with my already purchased groceries, to greeter, sent to cd/tv/gaming area to pay. decided to bring joy to customer "service" desk -- and i was nice too (hard to believe). the 2 workers said yup, happens all the time; they have to call or someone to a dept. $100 cash spent there this week: guess they don't want more business. good part there: it's never busy so they really don't need customer service

love to see things with french on them like the rugs at meijers with bon apetit--20$ for something misspelled. what an idiotic product.

thurs:
womansday for may has a good site to comparison shop for cd rates etc. try bankrate.com

same issue the stigma of illness article: woman diagnosed with HIV discusses common misconceptions about several diseases. she contracted hiv in a supposedly monogamous heterosexual relationship. 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men with lung cancer have never smoked. a woman who is bipolar was told by a relative that mental illness isn't real so why was she taking meds? like dad said, the only way you get fat is by eating too much. a simple approach to life. i like it: sometimes blaming the victim is for the best.


at meeting last night april 14: 2 state reps explaining how the gov has expanded proposal A to include universities and state colleges. Proposal A was for K-12. there was a 600 million surplus but the state will be cutting a billion so that there can be a 2 billion corporate tax decrease. probably will pass next week. both reps believe the MINIMUM decrease to school aid/student will be $700. general consensus: having state employees/teachers pay 20-40% of insurance will never begin to cover loss.

sat 4-23-11
from sojourners may 2011: good article on genetically modified alfalfa. p10 unfortunately "farmers who grow alfalfa for seed have little hope of maintaining pure strains. Seeds comingle in storage and transport, and--although alfalfa for hay is usually cut before it blooms--cross pollination is inevitable, since bees don't pause to check whether flowers are genetically modified or not". If as Henry Miller in Forbes said "We need seeds and crops that can better withstand drought, combat new pests and weeds, and perhaps adjust to changes in climate and growing seasons" how does roundup ready anything help? The author wondered who was promoting this? Land O'Lakes. It owns Forage Genetics, the seed distributor that cooperated with Monsanto to get us the roundup ready alfalfa. The president of Forage hopes that within 3 to 5 years half of the US alfalfa crop can be roundup ready. Isn't that great?

ordinary people can become extraordinary world changers--liked that idea

act justly, love mercy, walk humbly--micah 6:8

never knew the words to solidarity forever:
"all the world that's owned by idle drones is ours and ours alone.
we have laid the wide foundations; built it skyward stone by stone.
it is ours, not to slave in, but to master and to own,
while the union makes us strong.
solidarity forever! solidarity forever! solidarity forever!
for the union makes us strong."

People Power from sojourners may 2011--some things worth remembering: p18 "there is little truth to the claim that insurgents must use violence in order to get what they want. Many observers maintain that people resort to violence when they are forced to do so--by overly repressive circumstances, by injustices they can no longer tolerate--and after exhausting all other means of political influence. p19 Civilian-led non violent resistance can divide and topple regimes as security forces grow weary of repressing their unarmed compatriots. Material support from foreign states has little effect on the success of nonviolent campaigns."

90 Days To A Better Michigan--the republican lie

April 1, 2011

Lansing, MI — Governor Rick Snyder’s first 90 days in office have been marked by his unshakable focus on one goal: Fixing Michigan, Michigan GOP Chairman Bobby Schostak said Friday.

“Since Day One Governor Snyder has done precisely what he promised to do when campaigning for office last fall,” Schostak said. “Working with legislative leaders, the governor is taking bold steps toward making Michigan into a destination for prosperity and for families who want to enjoy the economic health and physical beauty of this great state.”

Schostak singled out House Speaker Jase Bolger, Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, and Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley as effective leaders who have supported key policy changes aimed at creating jobs and protecting taxpayers’ money.

The governor started his first 90 days with an online “Dashboard” that monitors how well Michigan is performing in critical areas, such as education, public safety, and economic strength. He followed by backing legislative measures that modernize the state’s item pricing law, reduce or eliminate burdensome regulations on businesses, and encourage local units of government to behave more responsibly when spending taxpayers’ money.

“This governor, through words and actions, is exhibiting his concern for Michigan families. He is taking all the time necessary – even as he works the levers of government – to speak directly to our communities, our families, and our neighbors at events throughout the state,” Schostak said. “He has traveled across Michigan almost every night and has done so much to communicate his concerns and approach to re-inventing Michigan. I marvel at his eagerness, energy, and focus as he remains true to his campaign


letter to those on education committee in mi, wed april 27

It is extremely dismaying to see a concerted effort to destroy education in Michigan. As I read the continuing pile of bills coming from your committee and your inane comments, I am amazed at how little you must know about teaching, educators, school systems and the public's attitude toward all these bills. Obviously you have not spent much if any time in elementary, middle school or high school. What a shame that people believed they voted for you to help with state problems; instead you are helping make many, many more. Most support you had is eroding quickly.

Is the ultimate plan to privatize schools so you or companies you are getting funds from profit?

Why continued tax breaks for companies and increases for the average citizen?

Will having a teaching degree in any way be necessary for a teaching career? We have licensed mechanics but aren't going to have licensed educators? When you take licenses away, can the teachers go on unemployment? Or do you plan to make new laws to fit the plan you want for that?

How many jobs is this education destruction going to create?

Rumors can get a union decertified? Just rumors? That will be a fun game to play, one which you specifically should appreciate.

Just talking about a strike will be illegal? No right to free speech? Very constitutional and illegal sounding. Can you make a list of what will be acceptable things about which to converse?

The MEA is far from the "most culpable"; actions in Lansing are culpable, reprehensible, immoral.

Is that a threat to "turn information over to law enforcement"?

How pathetic that the good things unions brought are being tossed as you go after what you consider the bad. I hope you never have to depend on educators to teach your child, medicare for your parents, social security, wages that can't support a family or dependents, bargaining for conditions, etc. Perhaps you should listen to some of the stories from the people who lived through the depression, through the evils unions did eliminate, through crises where there was or is no insurance and no resources. However, that might necessitate an empathy you seem to lack. Age and maturity are necessary elements of any job or the desire to do what is right. I hope that when you have aged, you will have gained some maturity and an understanding that you helped create a catastrophe for our state.

March 2011

Monday, the 14-----board of appeals today: told by the 3 people on the board that the assessor told them the state did away with all agriculture designations and that taxes on now residential unimproved would be the same anyway. of course, i believed that so came home to call the man who farms dad's north fields who also has farmland in atlas (his still is ag--he checked tax sheets) and he said he'd heard of someone who went in recently to get his no longer ag back to ag. when i returned to the township office the assessor was talking to the board and then to me: naturally it was a computer problem for me and at least 10 others, and i believed that too. according to her ALL the ag in the township disappeared--do you see anything wrong with this story? all except mr jelinek's? anyway, a new sheet was run with the 100% ag back on. i know the state, township and davison schools need $ and i would have been glad to pay more if that had been the case. and do you believe that?

15th-----one of the appeals people also applied for the trustee replacement. 12 people did. the 4 council people came up with their list of those to interview. surprise that ammon was among them--he accused of intentionally destroying the computer or hard drive when he lost supervisor election and replaced by a woman. horrors. actually i was told the trustee resigning had the computer/drive at his house and destroyed it. and that all the council knew. now why was this never pursued? it was discussed at a meeting either dec or jan following elections when the lawyer was present. it is obvious the remaining 3 want ammon. he is the supervisor who told me (karas suggested i ask him) that ag land from dad could never remain ag. odd that the lapeer conservation group was able to send me in the right direction and that the lawyer was able to submit papers and get it transferred.

Master Gardener meeting last night the 17th with Peter Bray from East MI Environmental Action Council. he suggested beans and peas for adding nitrogen to the soil and cutting the plants off at the end of the growing season to leave nitrogen rich roots in soil. he does use some cover crops too; also he uses beds not row planting. to someone's question about seed he said monsanto's roundup ready beans since 95 or 96 when introduced have now 10 weeds showing resistance, 3 in Mi. (if i got them right, horseweed, ragweed, and giant ragweed) for Bt corn, planting suggestions say 20% non resistant corn should be planted with the Bt so borer can be 20% happy. cute


On monday march 14 i attended the breakfast w/speaker series our 51st district rep puts on to raise $ for his scholarships for schools in his district. but not for davison though since a davison school building is not in his area. i busily took notes as fast as possible. rep scott said in intro remarks that the state is going to create jobs but not in lansing; "you in your community". the weight is on small businesses, it can't be labor intensive, you get to decide where to put $ and what to do to control your destiny, where to invest. the "Idea should be to take away rules" we will be doing that. the speaker was the MI speaker of the house, bolger. pretty good audience and some good questions. see if you see direct answers:


1. the superintendent of grand blanc schools deb hancock asked about the idea that if a school has an equity fund in place, even after cutting expenditures, getting worker concessions, etc, they will have to use all but 15% for new year budget and that 85% will be included as part of their state aid.

answer="the state's desire is to make difficult decisions this year to make things better from
now on, we need jobs to get healthy" (davison schools, may have 5.9 million shortfall, plans
include taking 2.4 million from the districts fund equity to balance the expected state
reductions. see the davison index mar 17)


2. someone named Jones asked about the poor conditions of the roads. he had spoken with the county which gets the same amount of $ as 14 years ago. what can the cities and townships expect?

answer=mi has 19 cents/gallon tax. cars get better mileage and people are buying less gas. what we need is a way to make those people who are using roads but not buying gas pay for the roads.


3. question about medical marijuana law from swartz creek mayor

answer=they will be working on it, he doesn't want to waste time on it but will


4. A man who works with a crisis group on pregnancy asked about the rumor that non profit
organizations were going to be taxed.

answer=no there isn't a plan, bolger thinks, to tax non profits but to lower their tax credits. (notice flint is thinking about charging for some services non profits presently do not pay for)

5. Bonnie who works with the paralyzed vets organization asked if they were ever going to get legislated 7% of contracts going to vets; now getting less than 1/2 % (i don't know anything about this)


6. Grand Blanc councilwoman asked what is the legislature doing about the fact that after serving only 6 years they get life time health care for selves and family. then she asked about brownfield grants being eliminated.

answer=working on that, maybe employers should pay 80% and employee 20%, we are paying for parking. as for brownfields, they may belong in the tax field or a policy committee (no real answer there)


7. A teacher i believe said if 100,000 public employees paid 20% of health care, that should be a lot of money.

answer="all the $ going into the state is taken from someone." maybe there are better health plans than the MEA's (messa i believe is non profit, others may not be not MESSA is used by many school districts now. retirees get other plans most bcbs i think) and "if all state employees took a 401K and no pension the whole budget would be ok".

8. asked by 1 audience member about what the legislature has done to take cuts--they now pay for their parking places. they cut their office budgets by 10%. bolger i believe said he did it by getting rid of the office manager. pay cut supposedly to start may 1


monday: was running errands in davison and ended at kroger where a bright red flint garbage truck pulled in to the north, did a u turn to be heading back out and stopped. out comes an employee with 2 garbage bags. at first i thought maybe he was throwing them in the container by the store but he went in. i watched him and he watched me. i assume they were cans. being a pessimistic and skeptical person i wondered first why was a flint truck there and why cans. could be ones they picked out of garbage of course and maybe flint takes the garbage to the dump north of davison rd. lunch time so they were "free"? 1:51pm truck 4950.

if i weren't planning on going to an anniversary party april 9th, the lowe's webcast pm gardening would be interesting. lowes.com/webcast on april 9 9am pst.

from the winter 2011 ACLU Rights Review: "Michigan law requires that children as young as 14 charged with certain felonies must be tried as adults and if convicted, sentenced, without judicial discretion, to life without parole. The US is the only country in the world that sentences youth to life without parole, and Michigan incarcerates the second highest number of people serving life sentences without parole for crimes committed when they were 17 years old or younger. Currently there are 350 individuals serving mandatory life sentences in Michigan without parole who did not commit murder, but were present or committed a felony when a homicide was committed by others." p 7


ben and i did aldi's on the 24th and even though it is low cost, low service, this was the first time i was told to take my receipt off the register. very odd. well, thinking positively, maybe the cashier didn't want to have germs from his hand on the receipt. must be it. and we were charged with 9 condensed milk instead of 8; on the positive the pepperoni pizza there is good, mama cozi's or something similar. would be nice if WHERE the items come from appeared on all packages and cans. holland i might trust but this packed for stuff is not acceptable, nor distributed by. i once checked on line at the aldi site and found nothing. could try again. . .

February finds

march family circle: quotations to think about

How wonderful is it that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. (Anne Frank)
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. (Maya Angelou)
Beauty comes from a life well lived. If you've lived well, your smile lines are in the right places, and your frown lines aren't too bad. What more do you need? (Jennifer Garner)
Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. (Harriet Tubman)
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. (Eleanor Roosevelt)

Book to buy: Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener's Handbook

cool looking carrots--purple, orange and white

Site to visit: www.NestWatch.org and www.michaelbluejay.com


Gardening to look forward to soon:
1 start plants in toilet paper rolls--just keep out of beagle's reach
2 try the string/twine in a funnel idea or even cut milk carton
3 old shower curtain in vehicle for plant purchases and other dirty tasks
4 take photos of plants, put on envelope for seeds at season's end; this is an easy way to see
what the seed should look like when planted (maybe more than 1 photo necessary)
5 stake tomatoes with 2" pvc pipe. idea from dec 2009 garden gate: hammer down 5' pipe so
4 feet above ground (use board on top) then water can go down the pipe. cap. later plant can
be tied to the pipe
6 put spring clothespin on roses to hold stem when pruning
7 1 ft sections of clay drainage tile on end, filled with soil, for decor around flower beds. can act
as hose guards
8 mark rake or shovel handles with ruler markings--maybe 4 or 6 in increments
9 photos now of trees for pruning later helps you see what needs to be trimmed
10 deer deterrent: 3 eggs blended in 1 qt water, let sit for 24-48 hrs and then spray on plants.
supposedly keeps deer away. how about raccoons?
11 use milky spore powder in soil to help destroy japanese beetles



michigan farmland values 2010 = 1 acre tiled = 3,348 untiled = 2,782
rental 111 84

soybeans est 09/10 = 44 bu/acre
price 9.59/bu

Michigan Farm News feb 15, 2011 p. 2 guest opinion by state senator john moolenaar 26th distrtict: end forced union contracts. this fits nicely with what's happening in wisconsin and the attempt to pass a bill on the fed level to get rid of the national labor relations act. let's hope that some of the crazies to the right realize that what they have is a direct result of labor working to get rights in the 40's and 50's. of course negative results in some areas and bulky benefits did result but a 40 hr week, no unfair dismissals, break time, better working conditions, some health benefits, a growth in the middle class who had money to spend, etc did result. take away minimum salaries, benefits, etc and who is going to buy products? is the right expecting foreign growth to carry sales? is that why factories are gone? cheap goods are great, as long as someone has money. of course the rich will be able to carry the corporations? or is that why the mortgage mess and resulting foreclosures and bankruptcies were allowed to happen--so the rich can take over everything? perhaps the growing ownership of guns should have been prevented long ago. the right supports the right to own arms; will they regret that in the future? will enough people finally get mad enough? or will they be so busy trying to get work, buy food, find somewhere to live, get health care, etc to ignore who is ultimately responsible. the saying that it's your fault you don't have a job or you lost your home no longer applies for many who did do the right things and still got fucked. (let some of the stories about no water breaks in the shops, eat dry oatmeal to quench your thirst, forced overtime, digging under train tracks, digging and striking electrical lines, etc be shared)
"A current problem facing both Michigan taxpayers and businesses are anti-competitive, government-mandated project labor agreements, commonly known as PLAs. These project labor agreements end open, fair, and competitive bidding on construction projects by all qualified contractors. Most commonly, in the case of 'union only' project labor agreements, competition is limited by exclusively awarding construction work to contractors who are signatories to collective bargaining agreements with labor unions for the duration of a project. . . . We can't afford to have 8 out of 10 of our workers sitting on the sidelines, not helping in our economic recovery. . . . . in February, i will introduce 'fair and open competition legislation in the Senate to explicitly protect every contractor regardless of union or non-union affiliation".

michigan farmers--against labor but for subsidies how hypocritical but not surprising

new words: zoonotic, zoonoses = infection transmissible from certebrate animals to humans
arboviruses


medical record sites: health.google.com or healthvault.com/related healthmanager.mayoclinic.com

ben just had me listen to this song:

SkyBladeXD | July 30, 2008 | 3,286 likes, 110 dislikes

If you feel so empty
So used up, so let down
If you feel so angry
So ripped off so stepped on
You're not the only one
Refusing to back down
You're not the only one
So get up

Let's start a riot, a riot
Let's start a riot
Let's start a riot, a riot
Let's start a riot

If you feel so filthy
So dirty so fucked up
If you feel so walked on
So painful so pissed off
You're not the only one
Refusing to go down
You're not the only one
So get up

Let's start a riot, a riot
Let's start a riot
Let's start a riot, a riot
Let's start a riot

If you feel so empty
So used up, so let down
If you feel so angry
Just get up

Let's start a riot, a riot
Let's start a riot
Let's start a riot, a riot
Let's start a riot

february crap

To Our Conservative Friends,

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside."

All too often, illegal immigrants and their liberal supporters are leaving out the "subject to the jurisdiction thereof," qualifier in order to gain citizenship by having a child in this country.

It is imperative that we make a distinction in our Constitution, so that we can begin to tackle our illegal immigration problem. Please take a moment to read this message and learn how you can help stop "anchor babies."

Sincerely,

Alan Gottlieb
Chairman, AmeriPAC


this, above, is from the ameripac group which should be in someone's crosshairs and below another group to watch. other ultra right groups are declaration alliance and patriotupdate. all try to use patriot themes to get readers to join in destroying what many others believe are right, equalizing, real christian values (not the distorted sexist and racist versions against women's rights, justice, equality, civil rights, etc)

URGENT UPDATE:

ObamaCare Death Panels Now In Effect

Kathleen Sebelius, head of the Department of Health & Human Services, has ruled that effective January 1, 2011 – all Medicare & Medicaid doctors will be paid to provide “end of life” counseling to the elderly and/or those younger and poorer patients deemed “infirm” – to help them decide if life is still worth living. All this will be provided yearly, as part of Obama’s new annual, creepily-euphemistically entitled “wellness” checkup.

FAX CONGRESS NOW
END THE DEATH PANELS – SELECT HERE

And Sebelius’ supporters are trying to keep the implementation a secret! Rep. Earl Blumenauer, (D-OR), recently sent supporters of the new rule an e-mail warning them "not to broadcast this accomplishment out to any of your lists, even if they are 'supporters' -- e-mails can too easily be forwarded."

Ms. Sebelius has apparently declared herself dictator and overthrown not only the will of the people, but also that of Congress… issuing secret, death-dealing orders behind closed doors. The ObamaCare bill originally contained provisions for the much derided "Death Panels" designed to persuade, pressure and coerce the elderly and infirm into making life or death decisions only every five years. Yet America overwhelmingly rejected such a provision, and Congress stripped it from the bill before passage. But it seems the eugenics-friendly Ms. Sebelius views her role as encompassing that of the United Nations-sanctioned “population police” who believe the world is overcrowded with what the Nazis notoriously labeled "useless eaters" – or perhaps she just knows there isn’t enough money for the federal government to pay for everyone’s heath care and social security, so she might as well start thinning the human herd now. Either way, Sebelius’ actions are contrary to everything in our first principles of liberty and human equality that this nation stands for, and are in direct violation of the philosophical, ethical and natural law foundations upon which rest our form of responsible self-government.

listened monday to a round table discussion from um flint about the middle east, mostly tunisia and egypt. very interesting to get semi expert facts and opinions about what is and has happened.

thursday meeting--judge spoke for black history month but included info on her background, how she became a judge, politics and the michigan supreme court. she is an excellent speaker.

FEB 13, the unison prayer at church included these relevant lines:

"merciful god, we confess that holiness is far easier to say than it is to do. our words are pious
but mask attitudes of intolerance and judgment. our concern for others is shallow, swallowed
up by our own self-interest. we resort to platitudes of compassion ad care rather than modify
our behavior in order to embrace those who are different or unlovely. this is not holiness...."

i believe this is what certain groups, even church groups, don't believe. they are not doers of
any words that don't profit them, put down others. they flaunt self righteousness in the face
of their blatant hypocrisy. their concern is for themselves, their interests, their businesses,
their biases and prejudices; their souls are hardened pustules of self centered vileness.
let's hope they reap the effects of their sown words.


progressive Feb 15:

a really interesting movie about the children's march in 1963. one of the members was there with her brother who was 1 of the kids jumping out of the school windows although he couldn't easily identify himself--was 15 at that time. the family had moved from georgia to alabama to get good jobs. the dad in industry and the mom to teach but the city charged $100 to accept her teaching certificate from GA which was too much. the city was described as "evil" for blacks and for many poor whites. good old bull connor was the anti hero of course; kennedy clips were "good reminders" of that time

at the same meeting dave davenport from the city council put in a raucous negative appearance saying he was there to get help and was sorry he came, blah blah, as if he had been told to come for some other reason. also a man from the chamber of council who had been invited and also had a different agenda. both could have been served at a later meeting, but davenport fortunately left. a good example of not knowing how to win people over.






progressive meeting on Feb 16:

looks like if it's been done before and didn't work, it never will. trying to build coalitions among groups but trying to get a list of possible speakers for a round table was extremely aggravating. asking people for sponsor donations: well don't ask him because, i don't want him . . . the whole experience was like the poem line "somebody said it couldn't be done..." obviously it never worked and never can but we want unity. hey: "somebody said it couldn't be done but he with a chuckle replied that maybe it couldn't but he would be one who wouldn't say so til he tried" (memory poem from 5th grade, wish i knew it all)