But all those people I've been writing to for years who have replied (when they've replied) that off-shore drilling is safe and necessary and that there would probably never be a spill or accident because the oil companies know what they're doing??? I told you so! I told you that yeah, they know what they're doing like the Captain of the Titanic, and it's too dangerous to keep temping fate this way.
Now we've got a gusher going at a rate of at least 200,000 gallons per day with a slick currently covering the approximate area of Puerto Rico (3,500 square miles+). The shrimp and oyster industry in LA and MS is completely ruined for probably the next few years, just as it was finally recovering from Katrina and in this economy. BP is saying it will continue spilling for at least another 8 days before they have any hope of stemming the flow with - get this - a dome that they're going to put over the site of the busted pipe (which, personally, I can't imagine will actually work), and another 3 months before they have a "relief well" drilled to divert the oil to another rig. We're screwed. And God help us if the oil gets into the Gulf Stream. Seriously, God help us because no one else will be able to at that point. Good job, BP.
I also think it's hilarious in a completely not funny way that our governor, who until recently has been a Republican, was against off-shore drilling (because most of the state is against it) until he was elected, then he was for it because it was popular in the Republican party, and now that he's an Independent because that's his only hope of being elected to the Senate, and this has happened, he's against it again.
I'm not particularly pleased with Obama on this issue either because he's been trying the impossible to do task of placating the Republicans to try to get them on his side way too much on these energy issues, saying coal, nuclear and drilling for oil is largely okay. The Republicans will oppose him, whatever he does, unless he becomes one of them and does exactly what the party line is. And even then they might oppose him just on principle. Best to tell them what Bush told the Dems all these years: my way or the highway. Because I do not agree with trying to placate people whose main motivation is money and power for themselves and their backers and the status quo because it preserves the other two. At all. I think it's all disasters just waiting to happen. And since the worst that can happen with a wind mill is a bird can fly into the propellers and get chopped into little birdy bits, I'm thinking that - despite the fuming of traditional energy corporations and the cost to set green methods up - it is the way to go. Seriously.
Showing posts with label economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label economy. Show all posts
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
I love that man.
President Obama, you made me cry again.
The only thing I didn't like in that whole speech was the idea of new nuclear power plants in the United States and continuing to perpetuate the lie of so-called "clean coal." We are all aware (or should be) that western Europe is systematically closing all of their nuclear power plants as they replace them with green alternatives because they recognise that the risks of total disaster far outweigh the benefits when geothermal, hydroelectric, wind and solar generated power is so much safer, healthier (for people and the world), more abundant and will eventually be far cheaper than even nuclear power (you know, they have to do something with all that nuclear waste... it doesn't just disappear into the Great Void just because we'd like it to do that...). The "clean coal" lie I have addressed elsewhere and will not go into again, but really people have got to stop repeating this figment of the coal industry's PR people's imaginations. Continuously repeating the lie won't make it any more a reality than telling children about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy make those imaginary creatures real.
Oh, and the Republicans? Can stuff it.
The only thing I didn't like in that whole speech was the idea of new nuclear power plants in the United States and continuing to perpetuate the lie of so-called "clean coal." We are all aware (or should be) that western Europe is systematically closing all of their nuclear power plants as they replace them with green alternatives because they recognise that the risks of total disaster far outweigh the benefits when geothermal, hydroelectric, wind and solar generated power is so much safer, healthier (for people and the world), more abundant and will eventually be far cheaper than even nuclear power (you know, they have to do something with all that nuclear waste... it doesn't just disappear into the Great Void just because we'd like it to do that...). The "clean coal" lie I have addressed elsewhere and will not go into again, but really people have got to stop repeating this figment of the coal industry's PR people's imaginations. Continuously repeating the lie won't make it any more a reality than telling children about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy make those imaginary creatures real.
Oh, and the Republicans? Can stuff it.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
I don't like Joe Wilson as much as anyone...
I totally agree that he was censured in the House today. I think he should apologize before the House too. It's not playing politics to censure him. He did an awful, awful thing during the President's speech. I said at the time that it was potentially racially motivated because I don't believe anyone would have done that to any previous president... whether that is because things are just so extreme right now, or because it truly did happen because the President is black and Joe Wilson is a racist, I can't say for sure.
But I do not like what Chris Matthews is doing. Saying that Joe Wilson is "playing Johnny Reb" by purposefully trying to stir things up to distract everyone from the real issue of health care, and trying to steer discussions on his MSNBC show toward what Joe Wilson's politics might be about the Confederacy and the Battle Flag, and suggesting that because Joe Wilson is from South Carolina everyone from South Carolina is racist, when that is very much not the case. Joe Wilson might be a lot of things - and I don't know that Chris is entirely wrong in his suggestions toward Joe Wilson's personal racism, I just wish Chris would be more specific with his evidence instead of just spouting innuendo and including all of South Carolina and all of the South in his slurs. Icwhutudidthar, Chris... and I don't approve. Because, honestly, you're doing exactly what you accused Joe Wilson of trying to do today - distracting from the real issues at hand. Stop being divisive, Chris! It weakens the argument and the Republicans do that enough for everyone... And the same goes for the rest of the Yankee media who seem to be really liking the idea that it's all a matter of people from the South just generally being ignorant, racist hicks. We're not. Thanks. I mean, some are, but I think the matter is being overstated and exaggerated.
I know what President Carter has said about the South. I would like to point out that he's of an older generation (like my grandmother who said last November that she wouldn't vote for Obama, despite the fact that the rest of us were, because "black people aren't as smart as white people"... *headdesk* Yes, we don't listen to what she has to say on such issues, and we realize she's living in 1932...), and might not be seeing the changes in the younger, mainstream Southern culture because he's looking for the way things used to be and finding that in some places (as Lincoln said, "If you look for the bad in people, expecting to find it, you surely will."). Sure, racism in the South still exists - I mean, duh - but is it pervasive and insidious like it once was? I don't see that it is.
Racism also doesn't occur just in the South. It also exists in New York, and Connecticut, and Wisconsin, and Vermont, and Arizona, and California - it occurs everywhere... Anyone who says otherwise obviously isn't paying attention, or purposely ignoring evidence because it doesn't fit in with their preconceived ideas about what racism is and who is guilty of it (and this tendency by some people is something I find pretty freaking disturbing). It isn't limited to just white people being racist toward black people either, it occurs in any and every combination imaginable, and anyone who pays attention knows that. Personally, I don't see greater evidence of racism in the South than I see evidence of it anywhere else in the country, although I think racism in the South gets a lot more press (again because it plays into some people's preconceived notions). If anything, I think many people in the South are hyper-aware of race issues precisely because of the South's history, in ways that people outside of the South are not, and make an effort to not only not be a racist in actual fact, but also to not do anything that might make them appear to be a racist either.
And can we please remember that Barack Obama carried Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia - which are three Southern states (Yes, Florida counts! If we seceded once upon a time, we count.) - and that he lost South Carolina by only 9%! That's a pretty small margin for a state that's supposedly so very racist, while also being so very Republican (which I think had a lot more to do with the loss, rather than pervasive racism). I'd also like to note that North Carolina and Indiana (not a Southern state!) had the same margin in Obama's favor: 50% to 49% with 1% going to other candidates.
At the very same time, I would very much thank the "Right" if they would STOP using phrases that bring up the idea that the South is full of racists to advertise their anti-Obama products, such as the "You Lie!" bumpersticker being peddled at WorldNetDaily with the phrase "Rebel yell" as part of the advertisement (and bona dea, but they are wingnuts over there at that site!). In fact, if you're not Joe Diffy or using it in technical historical context, I really wish you wouldn't use that phrase at all.
*sighs* ... Yeah, getting back to the fight for health care now.
But I do not like what Chris Matthews is doing. Saying that Joe Wilson is "playing Johnny Reb" by purposefully trying to stir things up to distract everyone from the real issue of health care, and trying to steer discussions on his MSNBC show toward what Joe Wilson's politics might be about the Confederacy and the Battle Flag, and suggesting that because Joe Wilson is from South Carolina everyone from South Carolina is racist, when that is very much not the case. Joe Wilson might be a lot of things - and I don't know that Chris is entirely wrong in his suggestions toward Joe Wilson's personal racism, I just wish Chris would be more specific with his evidence instead of just spouting innuendo and including all of South Carolina and all of the South in his slurs. Icwhutudidthar, Chris... and I don't approve. Because, honestly, you're doing exactly what you accused Joe Wilson of trying to do today - distracting from the real issues at hand. Stop being divisive, Chris! It weakens the argument and the Republicans do that enough for everyone... And the same goes for the rest of the Yankee media who seem to be really liking the idea that it's all a matter of people from the South just generally being ignorant, racist hicks. We're not. Thanks. I mean, some are, but I think the matter is being overstated and exaggerated.
I know what President Carter has said about the South. I would like to point out that he's of an older generation (like my grandmother who said last November that she wouldn't vote for Obama, despite the fact that the rest of us were, because "black people aren't as smart as white people"... *headdesk* Yes, we don't listen to what she has to say on such issues, and we realize she's living in 1932...), and might not be seeing the changes in the younger, mainstream Southern culture because he's looking for the way things used to be and finding that in some places (as Lincoln said, "If you look for the bad in people, expecting to find it, you surely will."). Sure, racism in the South still exists - I mean, duh - but is it pervasive and insidious like it once was? I don't see that it is.
Racism also doesn't occur just in the South. It also exists in New York, and Connecticut, and Wisconsin, and Vermont, and Arizona, and California - it occurs everywhere... Anyone who says otherwise obviously isn't paying attention, or purposely ignoring evidence because it doesn't fit in with their preconceived ideas about what racism is and who is guilty of it (and this tendency by some people is something I find pretty freaking disturbing). It isn't limited to just white people being racist toward black people either, it occurs in any and every combination imaginable, and anyone who pays attention knows that. Personally, I don't see greater evidence of racism in the South than I see evidence of it anywhere else in the country, although I think racism in the South gets a lot more press (again because it plays into some people's preconceived notions). If anything, I think many people in the South are hyper-aware of race issues precisely because of the South's history, in ways that people outside of the South are not, and make an effort to not only not be a racist in actual fact, but also to not do anything that might make them appear to be a racist either.
And can we please remember that Barack Obama carried Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia - which are three Southern states (Yes, Florida counts! If we seceded once upon a time, we count.) - and that he lost South Carolina by only 9%! That's a pretty small margin for a state that's supposedly so very racist, while also being so very Republican (which I think had a lot more to do with the loss, rather than pervasive racism). I'd also like to note that North Carolina and Indiana (not a Southern state!) had the same margin in Obama's favor: 50% to 49% with 1% going to other candidates.
At the very same time, I would very much thank the "Right" if they would STOP using phrases that bring up the idea that the South is full of racists to advertise their anti-Obama products, such as the "You Lie!" bumpersticker being peddled at WorldNetDaily with the phrase "Rebel yell" as part of the advertisement (and bona dea, but they are wingnuts over there at that site!). In fact, if you're not Joe Diffy or using it in technical historical context, I really wish you wouldn't use that phrase at all.
*sighs* ... Yeah, getting back to the fight for health care now.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Saturday, March 07, 2009
*cough, cough*
Well, I feel as if I dropped off the face of the earth of late. I can't sit here too long, but I want to write something so I'll be brief.
I have the flu. I missed three days of work this week, but I should be able to go Monday. I'm getting better, but slowly. I also think I might have bursitis and/or tendinitis possibly in several location in my right hip (based on quite a lot of research this week while I've had little else to do). I went to the doctor last weekend about it, but the doctor wasn't in, so I had to see a NP. No offense to those out there who have taken that path in life, but NPs are and always have been utterly useless to me in private practice. They always tell me I have something I don't have and invariably misdiagnose me and then it has to be correctly diagnosed by the doctor at a later date. This time, it was no different. I won't go in to all of it because it makes me far too angry and I really want to scream at the woman what an idiot she is. Just one of the many things she did wrong, was that she gave me a prescription for the same GERD meds I've been taking over the counter that aren't working for me, but she didn't tell me that's what she had done because they have a different name by prescription. The only real difference is that they charge about 10 times as much for it. This after I explained to her what I had been taking and that it didn't work and I needed something else. Can we say, why do you have a job? I think we can. The NPs who work at CVS though, what gems they are. Always very knowledgable, polite and helpful. So as soon as I have a day free from working, I have to make an appointment with an actual doctor and go back to find out what's really wrong with my hip, as well as this stomach pain that my doctor has previously told me is scar tissue in my duodenum... Only problem is that the duodenum is higher up. The location is classic for the start of chronic appendicitis. I think I might have to demand some actual tests rather than just relying on his guesses. An ultrasound. Some blood tests. Something. Or maybe I should find a new doctor. That's a possibility too. *sighs*
As far as the flu goes, I'm mostly just coughing and sniffling now, but I don't want to get sick again so I'm taking it easy this weekend until I'm sure it's well and truly going away...
My hip is why I can't sit here for long. It hurts to sit at the computer. I don't know if it's the height of the desk, the chair or what, but I just can't do it. I also wonder if I originally hurt my hip by spinning too long and too vigorously. I wonder if others have had similar injury. Because the NP didn't believe me and looked at me like I was the stupidiest person ever to come in to her exam room. Hey, just because I don't get my repetitive motion injuries by typing, ballet dancing or running marathons, doesn't mean they aren't real, lady.
In other news, I have only the toe of the first of Jensen's socks to do. I'm waiting on pictures of his feet. ... Yeah, pictures of his feet. I want to know wheather he has particularly broad toes or not. I also got the handcards I ordered. Can't remember if I mentioned that or not. They're nice. I've been blending some of the alpaca Ilana sent me with some lambswool that wasn't carded to my liking and was difficult to spin on its own. It's fluffy and beautiful.
The garden is doing very well. With the flu, I haven't been able to be out in it at all since last Sunday, but it's doing all right. My dad's been watering for me, and that's really all it's needed. There's a lot that should be done, but nothing that absolutely must be done for at least another week, which should give me enough time to finish getting over this flu.
The new issue of MaryJane's Farm came in the mail today. It is beautious and filled with gardening stuff and recipes. *my eyes are all aglitter* Especially interesting to me is the article on people who are turning their front yards into vegetable gardens. What a fantastic idea that is for those who have soil in that location that will work for them. Us... all our good soil is in the back. Oh, sure, we could always amend the soil in the front to get it up to snuff too, and we are for the flower beds that are already established, but our front yard is the size of most people's back yards, so a full-scale effort there is not going to happen any time soon. Still, I had my friend Joe help me out today by putting down new top soil in one of the beds and planting it with the summer and winter squash seedlings that I never found room for out back. Now there are some of all varieties in both locations. :D
I have the flu. I missed three days of work this week, but I should be able to go Monday. I'm getting better, but slowly. I also think I might have bursitis and/or tendinitis possibly in several location in my right hip (based on quite a lot of research this week while I've had little else to do). I went to the doctor last weekend about it, but the doctor wasn't in, so I had to see a NP. No offense to those out there who have taken that path in life, but NPs are and always have been utterly useless to me in private practice. They always tell me I have something I don't have and invariably misdiagnose me and then it has to be correctly diagnosed by the doctor at a later date. This time, it was no different. I won't go in to all of it because it makes me far too angry and I really want to scream at the woman what an idiot she is. Just one of the many things she did wrong, was that she gave me a prescription for the same GERD meds I've been taking over the counter that aren't working for me, but she didn't tell me that's what she had done because they have a different name by prescription. The only real difference is that they charge about 10 times as much for it. This after I explained to her what I had been taking and that it didn't work and I needed something else. Can we say, why do you have a job? I think we can. The NPs who work at CVS though, what gems they are. Always very knowledgable, polite and helpful. So as soon as I have a day free from working, I have to make an appointment with an actual doctor and go back to find out what's really wrong with my hip, as well as this stomach pain that my doctor has previously told me is scar tissue in my duodenum... Only problem is that the duodenum is higher up. The location is classic for the start of chronic appendicitis. I think I might have to demand some actual tests rather than just relying on his guesses. An ultrasound. Some blood tests. Something. Or maybe I should find a new doctor. That's a possibility too. *sighs*
As far as the flu goes, I'm mostly just coughing and sniffling now, but I don't want to get sick again so I'm taking it easy this weekend until I'm sure it's well and truly going away...
My hip is why I can't sit here for long. It hurts to sit at the computer. I don't know if it's the height of the desk, the chair or what, but I just can't do it. I also wonder if I originally hurt my hip by spinning too long and too vigorously. I wonder if others have had similar injury. Because the NP didn't believe me and looked at me like I was the stupidiest person ever to come in to her exam room. Hey, just because I don't get my repetitive motion injuries by typing, ballet dancing or running marathons, doesn't mean they aren't real, lady.
In other news, I have only the toe of the first of Jensen's socks to do. I'm waiting on pictures of his feet. ... Yeah, pictures of his feet. I want to know wheather he has particularly broad toes or not. I also got the handcards I ordered. Can't remember if I mentioned that or not. They're nice. I've been blending some of the alpaca Ilana sent me with some lambswool that wasn't carded to my liking and was difficult to spin on its own. It's fluffy and beautiful.
The garden is doing very well. With the flu, I haven't been able to be out in it at all since last Sunday, but it's doing all right. My dad's been watering for me, and that's really all it's needed. There's a lot that should be done, but nothing that absolutely must be done for at least another week, which should give me enough time to finish getting over this flu.
The new issue of MaryJane's Farm came in the mail today. It is beautious and filled with gardening stuff and recipes. *my eyes are all aglitter* Especially interesting to me is the article on people who are turning their front yards into vegetable gardens. What a fantastic idea that is for those who have soil in that location that will work for them. Us... all our good soil is in the back. Oh, sure, we could always amend the soil in the front to get it up to snuff too, and we are for the flower beds that are already established, but our front yard is the size of most people's back yards, so a full-scale effort there is not going to happen any time soon. Still, I had my friend Joe help me out today by putting down new top soil in one of the beds and planting it with the summer and winter squash seedlings that I never found room for out back. Now there are some of all varieties in both locations. :D
Friday, November 21, 2008
Go make yourself heard...
Because he's awesome, President-Elect Obama has set up a website where we can all send his people our ideas about what needs to be done in this country.
Change.gov
Check it out!
Some talking points I thought important to bring up:
Change.gov
Check it out!
Some talking points I thought important to bring up:
- Energy independence, but in a green way. No more mountain-top removal coal mining. No more lies about "clean" coal. No new nuclear power plants. Wind, solar, hydroelectric, tidal, geothermal - FTW!
- Agriculture - NO NAIS! Support for family farms, organic farms, local agriculture projects, education, etc. Down with factory farming!
- Reducing the amount of energy Americans currently consume. More efficient cars. More solar panels on residential, public and business buildings. Clotheslines available for everyone to use, YAY!
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
So genius!!!
The Coupon Wallet... I just hope at least one of the color options is made out of cotton or some natural fiber... Because this is exactly what I've been looking for! (And it's made in the US! Kudos!!)
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Food for thought...
If every American used a clothesline to dry their laundry instead of an electric dryer, we would collectively offset the amount of energy produced by NINE large power plants. ~ Source Project Laundry List
8% - 10% of the average American household's electric bill every month goes to running their dryer. ~ Source Project Laundry List
So do your part if you don't already and start line drying whenever possible instead of using the an electric dryer. It will save you money and save us all a lot of energy.
Clothes lines are easy to install and are inexpensive. Even the most elaborate will pay for itself in electric bill savings within a few months. Indoor drying racks can run anywhere from $10 to $100 depending on the size, what kind of wood it's made from, where it was made (look for "Made in the USA"!) and how sturdy it is. Some look like finished furniture and/or can be hung on a wall of a laundry room, providing shelf space as well as drying space. Most fold away for easy storage in a corner, closet or under the bed.
Clothes lines and indoor air drying racks can be bought at Walmart, most hardware stores, and online from places like Gaiam and Lehman's.
Existing fences and dense shrubbery (like boxwoods!) can also be used as auxillery drying space.
Clothes pins available for retail purchase in the United States are exclusively manufactured in China now. The last of those made in the US were sold last year. However, unused, second-hand and vintage clothes pins can be bought on ebay at inexpensive prices. (Seriously, you'd be surprised...)
I'm sad to say that of the 16 houses on our street, only 4 have clothes lines, including ours. However, two of those clothes lines - including ours - were put up in the past year directly due to the work of Project Laundry List. I love my clothes line.
If you live in an apartment or dormatory and you don't have outdoor drying space, but you want it, petition your landlord or campus authorities to allow for outdoor drying space on the basis that it saves both money and energy. If clothes lines are prohibited in your town/neighborhood, see Project Laundry List for tips about how to secure your right to dry.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
The USDA & livestock registration
Got this in an e-mail today and found it very disturbing... but oddly not surprising given the state of government at the moment. Sign the petition if you're as outraged as I am... Is livestock a threat to national security now or something? If someone understands this or has more info on it, please leave me a comment or two.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/369063795?ltl=1136227578
"Small farmers and backyard flock/herd keepers are facing a serious threat to their way of life. The government is proposing a Mandatory Property and Animal Surveillance Program that will require the registration of property and individual animals, even if you have only one chicken, pig, cow, etc. This must be stopped, or all small farmers will be driven out of business.
Help Stop the USDA from Taking Away Our Livestock and Our Pets
Poultry keepers and small farmers are facing a serious threat from a proposed government intrusion in to their pastimes and way of life. For quite a while now, the USDA has been working with the very largest scale animal industry organizations ( for example, The National Pork Producers, Monsanto Company, and Cargill Meat) to develop a mandatory "National Animal Identification System" (NAIS). Most small scale livestock producers, people who raise animals for their own food, and people who keep horses and livestock as companion animals do not know about this. The NAIS will drive small producers out of the market, will force people to stop raising animals for their own food, and will invade our privacy to an extreme degree. It will violate the religious freedoms of Americans whose beliefs make it impossible for them to comply, and will destroy the last vestiges of animal welfare from the production of animals for food.
On April 25, 2005,the USDA released "Draft Program Standards" and a "Draft Strategic Plan" concerning the NAIS. If you think the description below to bizarre to be true, please go to usda.gov/nais and read the Standards and Plan and check the citations for yourself.
By January 1, 2008, the NAIS will be mandatory.(Plan,pp. 2,10,17) Every person who owns even one horse, cow ,pig, chicken, sheep, pigeon, or virtually any livestock animal, will be forced to register their home, including the owners name, address and phone number, and keyed to Global Positioning System coordinates for satellite monitoring in a giant federal database under a 7-digit "premises id number." St., pp. 3-4, 10-12; Plan,p.5) Every animal will be assigned a 15 digit I.D. number, also to be kept in a federal database. The id will likely be a tag or microchip containing a Radio Frequency Device, designed to be read from a distance. (Plan, p.10; St.,pp.6,12,20,27-28.) The plan may include collecting the DNA of every animal and /or a retinal scan. The owner will be required to report the birthdate of every animal, the application of every animal's id tag, every time an animal enters or leaves the property, every time an animal loses a tag, every time a tag is replaced, the slaughter or death of an animal, if any animal is missing. These events must be reported within 24 hours.
Third parties, like veterinarians, will be required to report "sightings" of animals. For example, if you have a vet on your property to treat a sick animal, and the vet sees any animal without the mandatory 15-digit computer readable id, the vet will be required to report you. If you do not comply, the USDA will exorcise "enforcement" against you. The USDA hasn't specified the nature of "enforcement" as of yet, but it will probably include fines and/or seizing your animals. There are no exceptions - under this plan you will be forced to register an report even if you raise animals only for your own food or keep horses for draft or transportation.
What you can do: Small scale keepers of poultry and other livestock can take action to create an effective movement in opposition to the USDA plan. First, small scale livestock owners should not participate in any "voluntary" state or federal program to register farms or animals. The USDA is making farmers willingness to participate in a "voluntary" program as a justification for making the program mandatory. ( See Plan, "Executive Summary" and pp.7-8) Small farmers and livestock owners can also help to inform and organize others. The USDA presently does not plan to finalize it's rules for mandatory id until the summer of 2006. There is still time to make your voice heard. Please, sign this petition and let the USDA know we will not stand for having our right, freedoms, and personal privacy taken away. Thank you."
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/369063795?ltl=1136227578
"Small farmers and backyard flock/herd keepers are facing a serious threat to their way of life. The government is proposing a Mandatory Property and Animal Surveillance Program that will require the registration of property and individual animals, even if you have only one chicken, pig, cow, etc. This must be stopped, or all small farmers will be driven out of business.
Help Stop the USDA from Taking Away Our Livestock and Our Pets
Poultry keepers and small farmers are facing a serious threat from a proposed government intrusion in to their pastimes and way of life. For quite a while now, the USDA has been working with the very largest scale animal industry organizations ( for example, The National Pork Producers, Monsanto Company, and Cargill Meat) to develop a mandatory "National Animal Identification System" (NAIS). Most small scale livestock producers, people who raise animals for their own food, and people who keep horses and livestock as companion animals do not know about this. The NAIS will drive small producers out of the market, will force people to stop raising animals for their own food, and will invade our privacy to an extreme degree. It will violate the religious freedoms of Americans whose beliefs make it impossible for them to comply, and will destroy the last vestiges of animal welfare from the production of animals for food.
On April 25, 2005,the USDA released "Draft Program Standards" and a "Draft Strategic Plan" concerning the NAIS. If you think the description below to bizarre to be true, please go to usda.gov/nais and read the Standards and Plan and check the citations for yourself.
By January 1, 2008, the NAIS will be mandatory.(Plan,pp. 2,10,17) Every person who owns even one horse, cow ,pig, chicken, sheep, pigeon, or virtually any livestock animal, will be forced to register their home, including the owners name, address and phone number, and keyed to Global Positioning System coordinates for satellite monitoring in a giant federal database under a 7-digit "premises id number." St., pp. 3-4, 10-12; Plan,p.5) Every animal will be assigned a 15 digit I.D. number, also to be kept in a federal database. The id will likely be a tag or microchip containing a Radio Frequency Device, designed to be read from a distance. (Plan, p.10; St.,pp.6,12,20,27-28.) The plan may include collecting the DNA of every animal and /or a retinal scan. The owner will be required to report the birthdate of every animal, the application of every animal's id tag, every time an animal enters or leaves the property, every time an animal loses a tag, every time a tag is replaced, the slaughter or death of an animal, if any animal is missing. These events must be reported within 24 hours.
Third parties, like veterinarians, will be required to report "sightings" of animals. For example, if you have a vet on your property to treat a sick animal, and the vet sees any animal without the mandatory 15-digit computer readable id, the vet will be required to report you. If you do not comply, the USDA will exorcise "enforcement" against you. The USDA hasn't specified the nature of "enforcement" as of yet, but it will probably include fines and/or seizing your animals. There are no exceptions - under this plan you will be forced to register an report even if you raise animals only for your own food or keep horses for draft or transportation.
What you can do: Small scale keepers of poultry and other livestock can take action to create an effective movement in opposition to the USDA plan. First, small scale livestock owners should not participate in any "voluntary" state or federal program to register farms or animals. The USDA is making farmers willingness to participate in a "voluntary" program as a justification for making the program mandatory. ( See Plan, "Executive Summary" and pp.7-8) Small farmers and livestock owners can also help to inform and organize others. The USDA presently does not plan to finalize it's rules for mandatory id until the summer of 2006. There is still time to make your voice heard. Please, sign this petition and let the USDA know we will not stand for having our right, freedoms, and personal privacy taken away. Thank you."
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Well, he's off my list...
... of 'not too bad Republican politicians.' Who, you may ask? John McCain. I used to think he wasn't so bad for a Republican politician in Washington... not too radical or crazy. Well, I just heard him speaking at a Chamber of Commerce thing on CNN. He basically wants to make it easier for illegal aliens to not only *stay* in the United States and *not* be deported, but to also have the same rights as United States citizens without resorting to fraud (and without paying taxes or making any kind of contribution). How could a guy from Arizona have enough constituent support for a move like that?! ... I'm disgusted...
Monday, October 03, 2005
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes...
I've been watching "Shrek 2" lately, pardon the reference...
I bought a bike today. I figured if I can't buy American, the next best thing is to buy for value and quality. I got a Schwinn "Hollywood" on end of the '05 model year closeout (it's like bikes are cars all of a sudden), so got a deal and quality in one. It has aluminum wheels and stainless steal spokes, which are guaranteed not to rust, and a bunch of other "we're better than the rest" kind of manufacturing pluses. So woo-hoo! Now, I can bike up to Publix!
Other changes this week are that I got the fig tree (it's only about 18" tall) and the grapes planted.
This past weekend my dad, Joe, and I built a 10' x 20' grape arbor to the Eastern side of our back yard field. Mom says she's wanted one for years, so even though my dad complains about doing stuff like this, he did it anyway. It doesn't look like much yet, but give the vines time to grow, and me time to finish spray painting later this week. And of course, I still have to run the lead-wires across the top. 
After we were done building it, I realized that we're finally going to have our own sukkah for Sukkot (aka "the Festival of Booths" or Tabernacles, for those that don't know; it's in the Book of Ruth). Sure, it doesn't have a palm frond roof like they have today, but what on earth could the people in Europe do for Sukkot in centuries past, 'cause I know they didn't have that many palms widely available in the wilds of Eastern Europe or London. There must have been something else... A grape arbor seems good enough to me. There was probably citron and palm available in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages, but in Prague? I seriously doubt it...
(After doing a bit of research, I've found that anything can be used to cover the roof and walls of a sukkah as long as it was grown from the earth and cut off at some point... So this wouldn't techanically be a sukkah, since the grapes would be continuously growing... But, seriously, toss a few tree branches on top, lean enough against the sides to sufficiently cover three of them and the mitzvah is technically fulfilled as long as they won't be blown off by the wind... Although, I still can't find out how the Jews of Medieval Europe were able to fulfill the commandments concerning the citron and palm for the benedictions.)
I bought a bike today. I figured if I can't buy American, the next best thing is to buy for value and quality. I got a Schwinn "Hollywood" on end of the '05 model year closeout (it's like bikes are cars all of a sudden), so got a deal and quality in one. It has aluminum wheels and stainless steal spokes, which are guaranteed not to rust, and a bunch of other "we're better than the rest" kind of manufacturing pluses. So woo-hoo! Now, I can bike up to Publix!
Other changes this week are that I got the fig tree (it's only about 18" tall) and the grapes planted.
This past weekend my dad, Joe, and I built a 10' x 20' grape arbor to the Eastern side of our back yard field. Mom says she's wanted one for years, so even though my dad complains about doing stuff like this, he did it anyway. It doesn't look like much yet, but give the vines time to grow, and me time to finish spray painting later this week. And of course, I still have to run the lead-wires across the top. 
After we were done building it, I realized that we're finally going to have our own sukkah for Sukkot (aka "the Festival of Booths" or Tabernacles, for those that don't know; it's in the Book of Ruth). Sure, it doesn't have a palm frond roof like they have today, but what on earth could the people in Europe do for Sukkot in centuries past, 'cause I know they didn't have that many palms widely available in the wilds of Eastern Europe or London. There must have been something else... A grape arbor seems good enough to me. There was probably citron and palm available in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages, but in Prague? I seriously doubt it...
(After doing a bit of research, I've found that anything can be used to cover the roof and walls of a sukkah as long as it was grown from the earth and cut off at some point... So this wouldn't techanically be a sukkah, since the grapes would be continuously growing... But, seriously, toss a few tree branches on top, lean enough against the sides to sufficiently cover three of them and the mitzvah is technically fulfilled as long as they won't be blown off by the wind... Although, I still can't find out how the Jews of Medieval Europe were able to fulfill the commandments concerning the citron and palm for the benedictions.)
Sunday, October 02, 2005
FL lawmakers looking to close Green-belt loophole
Just heard on the local news that FL lawmakers are trying to reformulate a good 50-year old law to make it even better for the people of Florida (yay!!) and stick it to the developers who have been abusing it.
There's a law on the books here which gives working farms a tax break on their land, costing them $500 per acre instead of what it would be for residential zones. Well, savvy developers in the last G-d only knows how many years have been taking advantage of this law by grazing cattle in their construction zones before homes are built and sold. This means they can buy several hundred acres of farm land, graze as little as half a dozen cows that they have rented from "Rent-A-Cow" companies, and pay a fraction of what the land should and will be taxed as soon as the cows are gone. We're talking about land that goes for about $250,000 per acre. Economists estimate that these developers legally cheat the state out of $750,000,000 per year in tax revenues. The American Farm Trust and other such organizations are pushing for reform because they say it is unfair to the farmers for whom the tax break was intended.
On the other side of the issue is Carlos Lopez-Cantera, a State Representative from the Miami district, who is also a developer himself, and he (oh-so surprisingly) doesn't see what the problem is. Here's what he was quoted as saying to FOX13 News: "The developer benefits cause he gets a tax break. The cattlemen benefit because they have land to put their cattle on because they have no where else to go. And the county will end up benefiting as well." Yeah, well, there isn't a sentence there that I don't have a problem with for a number of reasons.
Let's hope that FL lawmakers will actually fix this law and close that loophole.
There's a law on the books here which gives working farms a tax break on their land, costing them $500 per acre instead of what it would be for residential zones. Well, savvy developers in the last G-d only knows how many years have been taking advantage of this law by grazing cattle in their construction zones before homes are built and sold. This means they can buy several hundred acres of farm land, graze as little as half a dozen cows that they have rented from "Rent-A-Cow" companies, and pay a fraction of what the land should and will be taxed as soon as the cows are gone. We're talking about land that goes for about $250,000 per acre. Economists estimate that these developers legally cheat the state out of $750,000,000 per year in tax revenues. The American Farm Trust and other such organizations are pushing for reform because they say it is unfair to the farmers for whom the tax break was intended.
On the other side of the issue is Carlos Lopez-Cantera, a State Representative from the Miami district, who is also a developer himself, and he (oh-so surprisingly) doesn't see what the problem is. Here's what he was quoted as saying to FOX13 News: "The developer benefits cause he gets a tax break. The cattlemen benefit because they have land to put their cattle on because they have no where else to go. And the county will end up benefiting as well." Yeah, well, there isn't a sentence there that I don't have a problem with for a number of reasons.
Let's hope that FL lawmakers will actually fix this law and close that loophole.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Irony and disappointment
Well, they had no bikes except very tiny children's bikes at Goodwill... So back to being SOL for an American made bike under $200. On the ironic side of things, I found an American made adult tricycle for $268.97 at Walmart of all places when I stopped in to price their Schwinns. But I neither want nor need a tricycle as it is too expensive and not at all manuverable when compared to a bicycle. Evenso, this is the only bicycle-like thing made in the US that I've seen since I began my search about three weeks ago.
So I'm disappointed about that, and the Roberts confirmation... On principle, I oppose anyone or anything that Bush and his cronies think is a good idea. And I got a link to this article in my e-mail from Oxfam America, "Housing Issues, Eminent Domain Top Concerns Among East Biloxi Residents". Here's a link: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/newsandpublications/news_updates/news_update.2005-09-23.6533152730
So I'm disappointed about that, and the Roberts confirmation... On principle, I oppose anyone or anything that Bush and his cronies think is a good idea. And I got a link to this article in my e-mail from Oxfam America, "Housing Issues, Eminent Domain Top Concerns Among East Biloxi Residents". Here's a link: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/newsandpublications/news_updates/news_update.2005-09-23.6533152730
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Bike update
Well, I went to Sports Authority in Citrus Park on the way to my job and they may have one type of bike there that is okay. It's an Iron Horse. The brand is based in New York State and was founded about 20 years ago and they make mostly mountain bikes and bikes for racing, but they have four different kinds of ladies' cruisers there. Three of them have stickers placed prominently below the handlebars which read "Made In China," however, the fourth has no stickers anywhere on it to indicate where it was made... I have to go back when I'm not in a hurry and get someone to tell me where it's made.
Later...
So I went back to Sports Authority and asked the guy working the bike section if he knew where the purple Iron Horses were made. He went into a tirade about his politics, how much he hates China and "the Commie-bastards who live there," and how there's hardly anything in the whole blasted store that isn't made in China... Yeah, yeah... That's why I'm asking if it's made in the US or China, guy. But he wouldn't really give me a straight answer, just kept saying, "Well, it's hard to find a bike made anywhere other than China these days." "I know," I said, "But these don't say where they're made. Do you know for sure?" "Well, the rest of the Iron Horses say they're made in China." "Yeah, I noticed that, but these have no stickers, so I was wondering if maybe they weren't, since the rest say specifically, but these don't." ('Cause there were like 6 of the purple ones on the floor, and none of them had stickers saying where they were made, but all the other models did.) "Well, those really aren't very good bikes anyway. What *you* want is a Schwin. I think even they're made in China now too, but they're the top of the line! I've got one over here, I can get it down for you if you want to take a look." No, no, that's okay...
::sighs::
So apparently, I have three choices.
1. pick out a $250.00+ bike from a boutique outfit that *is* made in the US *but* that's really over my price-range and way fancier than I need.
2. buy from China.
3. don't buy a bike.
It kinda unfair that those are my choices. It's my bank account versus my aspirations to actually live up to my political/economic values versus my health and the environment. That really sucks...
After brain-storming, I have a fourth choice that might rid me of my problems, which is to go down to the Goodwill Store instead... I think there's one on Hillsborough Avenue... Let's just hope they have ladies' bikes 'cause I've never gone there before and I haven't a clue as to what they have available.
Later...
So I went back to Sports Authority and asked the guy working the bike section if he knew where the purple Iron Horses were made. He went into a tirade about his politics, how much he hates China and "the Commie-bastards who live there," and how there's hardly anything in the whole blasted store that isn't made in China... Yeah, yeah... That's why I'm asking if it's made in the US or China, guy. But he wouldn't really give me a straight answer, just kept saying, "Well, it's hard to find a bike made anywhere other than China these days." "I know," I said, "But these don't say where they're made. Do you know for sure?" "Well, the rest of the Iron Horses say they're made in China." "Yeah, I noticed that, but these have no stickers, so I was wondering if maybe they weren't, since the rest say specifically, but these don't." ('Cause there were like 6 of the purple ones on the floor, and none of them had stickers saying where they were made, but all the other models did.) "Well, those really aren't very good bikes anyway. What *you* want is a Schwin. I think even they're made in China now too, but they're the top of the line! I've got one over here, I can get it down for you if you want to take a look." No, no, that's okay...
::sighs::
So apparently, I have three choices.
1. pick out a $250.00+ bike from a boutique outfit that *is* made in the US *but* that's really over my price-range and way fancier than I need.
2. buy from China.
3. don't buy a bike.
It kinda unfair that those are my choices. It's my bank account versus my aspirations to actually live up to my political/economic values versus my health and the environment. That really sucks...
After brain-storming, I have a fourth choice that might rid me of my problems, which is to go down to the Goodwill Store instead... I think there's one on Hillsborough Avenue... Let's just hope they have ladies' bikes 'cause I've never gone there before and I haven't a clue as to what they have available.
"Made in the USA"
My goal is a simple one: find a cruiser-style (i.e. not "mountain" or "bmx") bicycle for somewhere around $100 or less that was manufactured in the United States by citizens of the United States in order to support American jobs... I do *not* want to buy a bike from China and I refuse to support the outsourcers, even if they have a perfectly lovely looking one for $53.97 at Walmart down the street. I want a bike to take around the neighborhood, to the grocery store for little things, and for exercise in the park. Is that so much to ask? Apparently so...
None of the major bike manufacturers manufacture their bicycles in the US anymore... Schwin, Pacific, Roadmaster, and Mongoose have *all* been bought out by a Canadian conglomerate "with offices in Asia." ::rolls eyes:: Huffy prominently displays "Made in China" on the frames of all their bikes, which is disappointing because the bike I had when I was in grade school was a "made in the USA" Huffy. Murray, although apparently British-owned, once made bikes in the US, but appears to have gone out of business because I can't find them *anywhere* on the net, let alone in stores. I went to http://www.usstuff.com/ hoping for help, but most of their info is either out-of-date or for Lance Armstrong wannabes... (I don't want a $300+ handmade-in-California-on-the-beach road bike for racing... I just want a nice, simple 26" lady's 1-speed bicycle, maybe with a nice little basket on the front or over the back wheel. Why is that so difficult?)
So I thought, okay, used... So I looked up bicycle shops in Tampa in the phone book. There is literally one place listed that says it has used bikes in the greater Tampa/St. Pete area, called "Anne's Attic" in extreme South Tampa, about an hour's drive from here. The place that used to have used bikes near the University has gone all new and mostly high-end (which makes no sense to me whatsoever)... and "Play It Again Sports," the used sports equipment store three blocks from here, says that they rarely get any bikes in these days. There's one place which might have some that I haven't checked yet - the Pawn Shop near the University (because occasionally there will be some displayed out on the curb), but anyone who's been around that part of Tampa knows why I hesitate to venture over there alone. Even fastfood restaurants in that part of town go into lockdown with bars on their windows as soon as the sun sets.
So, yeah, looks like for the moment I'm SOL, unless anyone has any suggestions...
None of the major bike manufacturers manufacture their bicycles in the US anymore... Schwin, Pacific, Roadmaster, and Mongoose have *all* been bought out by a Canadian conglomerate "with offices in Asia." ::rolls eyes:: Huffy prominently displays "Made in China" on the frames of all their bikes, which is disappointing because the bike I had when I was in grade school was a "made in the USA" Huffy. Murray, although apparently British-owned, once made bikes in the US, but appears to have gone out of business because I can't find them *anywhere* on the net, let alone in stores. I went to http://www.usstuff.com/ hoping for help, but most of their info is either out-of-date or for Lance Armstrong wannabes... (I don't want a $300+ handmade-in-California-on-the-beach road bike for racing... I just want a nice, simple 26" lady's 1-speed bicycle, maybe with a nice little basket on the front or over the back wheel. Why is that so difficult?)
So I thought, okay, used... So I looked up bicycle shops in Tampa in the phone book. There is literally one place listed that says it has used bikes in the greater Tampa/St. Pete area, called "Anne's Attic" in extreme South Tampa, about an hour's drive from here. The place that used to have used bikes near the University has gone all new and mostly high-end (which makes no sense to me whatsoever)... and "Play It Again Sports," the used sports equipment store three blocks from here, says that they rarely get any bikes in these days. There's one place which might have some that I haven't checked yet - the Pawn Shop near the University (because occasionally there will be some displayed out on the curb), but anyone who's been around that part of Tampa knows why I hesitate to venture over there alone. Even fastfood restaurants in that part of town go into lockdown with bars on their windows as soon as the sun sets.
So, yeah, looks like for the moment I'm SOL, unless anyone has any suggestions...
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