Author Archives

eaglehttps://sunlightonthewater.wordpress.com
eagle's avatar

A positive image of women

by

Emme, the woman-as-a-model, had some positive words to say about being….well…a normal size woman….she loathes the term “plus size” and I do, too.

From the article:

“I think the word ‘plus-sized’ is really a derogatory term for anyone that just happens to have a curve,” Emme told Billy Bush and guest co-host Holly Robinson Peete on Friday’s Access Hollywood Live.

~~~~~~~~~~~

As I’ve said in previous blogs, the pressure put on women to be super skinny is unhealthy.  It’s not realistic.

Truly, looking at the women called “sexeee” by men’s magazines….with no hips and fake boobs…their body shape more closely resembles a man’s….hmmmm….

Or it seems that mature women’s bodies are the objection—i.e., after childbirth.  When I think of some of the biggest stars…I see the women as more popular when they had young girl figures…really creepy when you think about it.

Sophia Loren would be called fat nowadays….

…and it’s not just the U.S. where women are affected.  Be forewarned–this video shows the progression of the disease and it is very difficult to watch:

Peace be with you, Anna in Russia, and all the women of the world.

Sudan bloodshed ongoing

by

I had hoped that things were going to move in a positive direction for North and South Sudan, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Story here:         satellitetoday.com/st/feature/George-Clooneys-Satellite-Sentinel-Project-Reveals-War-Crimes-Security-Violations-Using-DigitalGlobe-Imagery_41401.html

The satellites clearly show damage done, I get that—but the thing that bothers me about the satellites is that last paragraph:

DigitalGlobe made headlines of its own in February 2013, when it completed its merger with GeoEye, resulting in a total constellation of five satellites. According to DigitalGlobe’s website, the company globally collects more than 3 million square kilometers of imagery per day and supports a wide range of defense and intelligence clients, including several responsible for the monitoring, storage and development of weapons.

~~~~~~~~~~~

[italics mine]

Yeah…the Big Brother aspect bothers me….

…something that is used to bring about good can also be used for the Dark side.

Here is a good interview that explains what is happening in Sudan.  It is the best video I have seen that not only explains what is happening, but what is going on behind the scenes, as well.

So much blood shed for oil…

Using sense

by

I wasn’t going to blog on this, but after giving it some thought…

Today I was watching the Daily Show with John Oliver (taking over for Jon Stewart for the summer), and they showed a video that was the most disgusting thing I’ve seen to date.  I couldn’t believe that they would air something as bad as that.  I’m not going to link to the site nor even describe what it was about, only to say that it involved two dogs.

Good God, what were they thinking?

The Food Stamp Lie **edited

by

**edited.  I missed the claim that he purchased all of this on $21.55  + 6.03 …. So, he’s saying that he used this for a week? At five weeks, that would be $137.90…and that’s only if you live within walking distance of a big box store (that pays minimum wage to its employees) …..but it still stands that this is not  healthy nor sustainable, without meat, fruits and veggies, butter (or olive oil) and eggs.

Donny Ferguson, an aide in the office of Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX), made the bogus claim that he could eat well on the amount of food allowed with Food Stamps, or SNAP, as it is officially called.

I was surprised to see such a well thought out response here.  Not expecting that from Forbes, for sure. 🙂

I read a rather lame article on MSNBC.  (not linking to it, you’ll have to google it.)   The article writer didn’t bother listing the food items that Ferguson bought, but started with the headline “Republican Staffer Beats Food Stamp Challenge”   I don’t know why folks think MSNBC is liberal…it’s not.  Save for a couple of the more enlightened ones.  I’m sure they’ ll be gone, however, if they really stick their necks out….a la Phil Donahue.  (I find it highly ironic that I grew up on Phil Donahue and my kids have control freak and bully Dr. Phil.)

The llist of the items bought by Ferguson:

For $21.55 Ferguson purchased at Dollar Tree:
Two boxes of Honeycomb cereal
Three cans of red beans and rice
Jar of peanut butter
Bottle of grape jelly
Loaf of whole wheat bread
Two cans of refried beans
Box of spaghetti
Large can of pasta sauce
Two liters of root beer
Large box of popsicles
24 servings of Wyler’s fruit drink mix
Eight cups of applesauce
Bag of pinto beans
Bag of rice
Bag of cookies

For $6.03 at the Shoppers Food Warehouse next door Ferguson bought a gallon of milk and a box of maple and brown sugar oatmeal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First, there are no can sizes listed. Highly suspect.  How big a box of sugar-coated cereal?  How big a can of chemically suspect red beans and rice?  How big a jar of grape jelly?

Speaking from a Celiac viewpoint, I couldn’t get past Day One of this wheat based diet.  I would be ill after the first meal, and in a hospital by the end of the month….if I made it that long.

Secondly, as the Forbes article mentions, this diet is void of fruits and vegetables.  And meat, too.  Not one egg.  No flour.  No butter. It has everything to encourage heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and dental decay.  There is nothing nutritious or healthy about this diet.

I don’t drink milk, but if I did before the crash and burn, I would have stopped by now because it’s too expensive and nutritionally questionable with pasteurized milk from grain-fed cows kept in captivity shot up with antibiotics.

~~~~~~~~~~~

This is not a sustainable diet–for the planet nor for its inhabitants.  It’s disingenuous.  And no doubt if someone follows this diet, the repubs would be blaming them for getting sick and costing taxpayers $$$ dollars in healthcare costs.  Pffft.

The Voting Rights Act

by

What can I say?

Roberts says that times have changed and things are different now.  Yes and No.

Yes we have our first African American president.  I see African American professionals in many places.  It was especially poignant to watch the coverage of the recent tragedy in Philadelphia–when the building collapsed.  The mayor, the head of the fire dept., and another official were all African Americans.  That was a proud moment.

But, No,  racism has not been eliminated.  Roberts should know this….in his own backyard of Laporte County, Indiana, was a case of someone spraying racial slurs on the sidewalk of an African American church about three years ago.  There was snow on the ground, to make tracking easier….but somehow the culprits got away….

Voting Rights Act was put into place because of the stuff we’re seeing yet today…

…like the attack on ACORN…an organization that sought to get the poor and others registered to vote…

…Florida thwarting voters…

…so to say that everything is just fine and it’s okay to let these states once again do as they please is just plain wrong.

Saying racism is “over” is like saying that sexism has been eliminated because we see *some* women in positions of power.  And those women don’t necessarily speak for women who stay home, out of the rat race, so to speak.  So it’s not a fair representation of all thoughts.   It’s also not a representation of actual progress.  When women who stay home are acknowledged as contributing to society as much as a woman who brings home a paycheck;  when rape is no longer seen as the fault of the woman; when domestic violence is acknowledged for its devastating effects on women, children, and society; when tenderness is no longer seen as weakness….only then will anyone convince me that sexism is no longer an issue.

And racism and sexism are created from the same mindset of power-over.

Goliath is winning…

by

….this is not good….we have third generation bee farmers who are giving up because of the genocide of bees. (buzz-a-cide?)

From the Chicago Tribune link:

Die-offs of bee populations have accelerated over the last few years to a rate the U.S. government calls unsustainable. Honeybees pollinate plants that produce roughly 25 percent of the foods Americans consume, including apples, almonds, watermelons and beans, according to government reports.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m afraid that they will wake up too, too late….and it won’t be until the crops have died and the fields are empty.  God help us then.

Deer infected with neurological disease

by

CMD also reports of a neurological disease in Wisconsin deer that is like mad-cow disease.    The DNR reports that there have not been any documented cases where the disease has been transferred to humans….but they’re not exactly testing for it, either, according to this report.  I did a quick check of Indiana’s DNR website, and they have not reported the disease in the state.  Yet.  But the report is from 2008, so they may be stricken in the last five years.

It just blows my mind that they are so lackadaisical about it.  They’d much rather deny your eating raw milk (that has beneficial enzymes) than deny you venison.

Just think about the recent reports of horse meat being served as beef in restaurants…yeah, you get the picture.  And we have poor folks who are probably harvesting road kill in order to eat.  Not saying that I have actual knowledge of this, but I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to learn this has been going on.  Poor people without health insurance are not going to go to the doctor.  They would end up in emergency rooms —who would know to look for the disease?

The biggest question of all–why are they now becoming so sick?  It seems that since 2006, it has rapidly climbed.  Why?

I know you all are going to groan, but with the gut affecting the neurological function, I have to think it’s related to the gut….and there might be a connection between GMO’s and the deer now suffering so much neurologically.  Deer love corn.  Corn is now all GMO (unless specifically grown organically, but as we have explored before, GMO corn is pollinating organic and non-GMO corn–from this excellent blog on how serious genetic manipulation is:

Another concern is the natural cross-breeding of crops in adjacent fields, resulting in the transfer of transgenes into organic and conventional (non-genetically-engineered) crops.

Sadly, farmers who become the victim of natural crop cross over are often subject to lawsuits: Monsanto has repeatedly filed patent infringement lawsuits against farmers who may have inadvertently harvested GM crops mixed into their non-GM crops. Farmers insist these crops are the result of cross-pollination from GM crops planted a field or two away; Monsanto claims the farmers obtained Monsanto-licensed GM seeds from an unknown source, and mixed them into their seed sources without paying royalties to Monsanto.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another recent blog on GMO.

So…think they’ll test these diseased deer for a) Celiac-like gut inflammation; and b) GMO infected gut flora?  Nah.  That would make too much sense.

Moyers on ALEC

by

Center for Media and Democracy has this up on Bill Moyers covering the dirty dealings of American Legislative Exchange Council.  It states that this was all over the nation on PBS stations this weekend.  If it was on my local station, I saw no advertisement of it, so I missed it.  (Boy, do I miss FW, which has such a kick butt public radio station, and three PBS stations, as well. )

Luckily, there is a link here to watch the show online. Also, there is a link for finding out which of your own state’s representatives belong to ALEC.  I found a couple of surprises, there, such as Win Moses, who was the former mayor of Fort Wayne, and John Gregg, the guy who just ran for governor.  Mike Pence was not listed, but yeah, he seems to be doing their bidding:

mikepence.com/newsletter/pence-hires-atkins-policy-director

See…this exposure of ALEC is a double-edged sword–you’re getting the word out and people are paying attention, but they (ALEC)  will find ways around it by people who are off in the wings, such as Atkins.