Progress

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Now that the chaos of last week is behind me (she says with hesitation…)

I’ve caught cold from my grandniece, who decided to “share the love” 😉

She asked for a drink from my cup, and while she took a sip, it occurred to me that she possibly has a cold because she was sneezing earlier…I asked her mother, who confirmed my suspicion.  Oh, well…

Anyway, it’s kind of a bittersweet thing–

I haven’t had a full-blown cold in 4-5 years.  This is significant in mercury poisoned folks–it’s a phenomenon among us.  Dr. Cutler says that most really sick individuals DON”T get colds, but start to get them after getting so much of the mercury out.  He theorizes that when we’re really loaded down with mercury, our bodies are to inhospitable for even colds to grab hold–but as we chelate the mercury out, our bodies become more  hospitable to anything that comes along.  I think it’s also just our messed up immune systems not able to respond in the “normal” way to whatever comes along.  I started sneezing about two years ago–but only twice or so.   This was the case usually before I got a migraine…so I’m wondering about the significance of that.

So, I’m actually happy that I have to blow my nose and sneeze and generally feel like crap.  It’s a good sign 🙂

 

Scenes from small towns…

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I’m driving along a two-lane highway along the country to the town my sister is in…these are the scenes along the way:

…a house standing alone surrounded by farm fields now has weeds growing up around it.  It appears to have been abandoned.

…an old brick farm house with a row of trees lining the drive now has a “for sale” sign out front.  It used to have fresh produce and a ‘fresh eggs’ sign out front.

…I pass by another farm house where an Amish father is walking out from the house to the barn.  Following him are three young ones… lined up just like ducks following their mother.

…wide open fields with farmers plowing, dust blowing huge clouds into the skies.  It’s hard to describe the serenity of the scene.  No noise.  Nothing but space to expand.  Nothing but you and your thoughts.

…A serene lake with Canadian geese and ducks paddling along…one of the geese comes towards me as I stand out on a pier.  Geese never do that, and he came just close enough to eyeball me, but no closer.  I wonder if someone has been feeding them?  Meanwhile, a crane flies overhead…and redwing blackbirds sing their song from nearby reeds.

…a young lady who cuts and styles the nursing home resident’s hair speaks of family who have taken in family members–grandkids, sons/daughters, and their friends because of the times we live in–she herself works four jobs.  She has the full time job of cutting hair, but also manages a weekly newspaper, and works a retail job, too.  I forget what the fourth one is.  She has a five month old son, and an ex who doesn’t appear to be helping much.  She’s a sweet person who is very caring towards the residents who should be able to stay home with her son, but doesn’t get that luxury.

…seen at an antique shop:  a refrigerator magnet with “I’ll believe corporations are people when the State of Texas executes one.”  Heh.

 

 

They’ve taken notice, folks…

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Center for Media and Democracy has been criticized by the Wall Street Journal for its exposure of the behind-the-scenes manipulations of ALEC.

Link here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304432704577347763603932288.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

I can’t get access because I don’t have a subscription, so I can’t offer any more.  It’s interesting, though, that this is behind the “fire wall”, so to speak.  And don’t forget that Rupert Murdoch owns WSJ.

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More on ALEC and State Farm here.

And here.

The big question is with all the corporate pull-outs…why were they there in the first place…?  Is the sunlight too much for them?

Republicans to the poor:

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Eat Shit.  Because we’re going to cut food stamps by 11 percent.  Never mind that you can’t afford to buy food for an entire month on what you’re given right now–you’ll have to resort to eating shit to survive….

One of the commenters mentions the Titanic.  I watched it over the weekend on the anniversary of the ship’s sinking.  I couldn’t help but picture Mitt Romney as Billy Zane’s despicable character, a wealthy sociopath…

…and how much today’s economic times reflect those of that period.  And people talk as if those times were permanently relegated to history….ignoring what is happening all around them.

And I don’t believe for a second all the glowing reports of a recovery.  I don’t see it where I sit.  And I find it a little too convenient now that we are in an election year–that suddenly we’re in an upswing of jobs?  And jobs alone aren’t the total answer–GOOD PAYING jobs are the answer.  Martin Luther King was promoting the idea of a guaranteed income before he was murdered…everyone would have a minimum income.  Of course, he preferred that everyone have a decent-paying job.

I found this living wage calculator from Pennsylvania State.  I went to Allen County, Indiana, and found their low allowance for food: $236 per month for a single adult appalling.  Only if you eat unhealthy food: processed meat like bologna, hot dogs, etc., and if you stay away from organic and fresh vegetables can you afford that piddly amount.  Indiana only allows $200 per month in food stamps as it is…if the republicans get their way, it will be $178.

People just wanna be free…

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John Brennan is apparently mad as hell and isn’t going to take it anymore….

…so he obliged the TSA and removed all doubt that he had any bombs on him…along with his clothes. 

The local radio station morning team had announced the news.  After commercials, the radio jock came back on and chided the newswoman for failing to note the music that was playing in the background as John Brennan removed his clothes.   The next thing you hear are the beginning notes of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”…only someone has made  it say “Let’s Check for Bombs…” with the lyrics changed to TSA screenings.  I tried to find it on youtube, but alas…

I find the charge of indecent exposure hilarious….apparently, he should have waited until being *asked* by TSA personnel before disrobing.  See, it’s all in the viewpoint.  They can visually rape you and expose your body to who-knows-what radiation levels.

More here.

…but they have to ask you first…

 

 

Promoting food exports

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I was listening to the radio over the weekend, with agriculture reports,  and an employee of the USDA was enthusiastic about the increase of sales of food overseas.

They’re pouring $$$ into it-  $234 million in 2007.   Two hundred thirty-four million to promote it.

Link here:  http://westernfarmpress.com/usda-grants-234-million-promote-us-food-and-agriculture-products-overseas

Another link here: http://www.agri-pulse.com/uploaded/Jan2610H2.pdf

The same amount–$234 million was allocated in 2010.

This bothers me because of Tom Vilsack’s connections to Monsanto.  It also bothers me because of the tone of the radio program–

They were saying that exports of U.S. food were expected to continue to rise through 2020.  The biggest reason cited was the growth of the middle class in China, India, and Russia.

It popped into my head that their middle classes were swelling while ours was shrinking into oblivion.  This left me with a feeling of dread of empty pantries here in the U.S. because our folks are no longer able to afford food, while ships sail across the ocean to folks who could pay $$.  Not a pretty thought…

 

News Flash

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…Secret Service Agents are having sex!  OMG!  ::clutches pearls:: ::swoons::

It would appear that they were doing this on their own time, since this story puts it in the evening….so unless they had disclosed information to these women that compromised the President or security, I don’t see where this is anyone’s business but the wives’ and their husbands.   To lose their jobs over it? No.

…just like Elliot Spitzer.  And just like Elliot Spitzer, I wonder about the circumstances behind the firings…

Good Grief.  They would have fired John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, etc., etc.   If you’re doing your job correctly, then it’s no one’s business what goes on when you leave the office at night.  I mean, listening to the right wing radio host here in FW last night–he was livid about this–saying that these guys were not going to be hired by ANY police force or security company, blah, blah, blah…his female co-host, to her credit, was making the same point that I have–what you do on your own time is your own business.  The host couldn’t be swayed, and by his tone, he made it seem that sex itself was the problem…how dare they…?

There’s more here, folks, than is being told, as usual…