Zesty Cranapple

1/2 c cranberries - organic OF COURSE! Doh! A handfull of red grapes - better for you than the green ones, 1/2 lemon - well, I used bottled juice - sue me, 2 apples - ORGANIC.



Now does this not look GOOOOD? 206 calories, Vit A, D, E, folic acid, potassium, and a bunch of other stuff.

How you doin'?

It's Vitamin D, Stupid

George Mateljan Article - What does GMO mean?

"GMO" stands for "Genetically Modified Organisms," and in the case of food, it usually refers to foods which have been genetically engineered for reasons unrelated to health or nourishment. You may also see the term "GE foods" (which stands for "genetically engineered" foods) or terms like "genetically altered" or "genetically modified" or "genetically improved" to describe these foods.

The process of genetically modifying foods is very new to the world of agriculture. In 1994, there were zero acres of GE food crops in the entire United States. At present there are more than 100 million acres! The Center for Food Safety, a non-profit public interest and environmental advocacy group headquartered in Washington, D.C., estimates that 70-75% of all grocery store products contain at least one genetically modified ingredient. You have almost certainly already consumed many GE foods, whether you knew it or not!

Uncertain health risks with GE foods

The health risks associated with GE foods have not been clearly identified. However, many scientists have speculated that these foods are more likely to trigger allergic reactions in some people. Additionally, they suggest that they may change the protein composition of foods in a way that could present problems for the body's immune, inflammatory, digestive, and cellular signaling systems.

GE soybeans and GE corn are of special concern

In addition, a 2004 survey conducted by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology determined that 45% of all corn, 85% of all soybeans, and 76% of all cotton produced in the U.S. were genetically engineered. This very high percentage of genetic engineering for corn and soybeans is alarming because corn and soybeans are processed into so many commonly used ingredients in processed and prepackaged foods.

For corn, of course, the most common processing product is HFCS, or high fructose corn syrup. This product is found in literally thousands of processed foods, including sodas, baked goods, and many other foods. Other processed food ingredients that often come from corn include corn syrup, corn syrup solids, malt, maltodextrin, maltose, maltol, ethyl maltol, malt syrup, mannitol, dextrose, dextrin, and polydextrose. Of course, corn starch, corn flour, and corn oil are also corn-based ingredients.

As the most common GE food in the U.S., soybeans can be even more difficult than corn to identify in processed and prepackaged foods. The list of processed food ingredients derived from soybeans is a long one and includes: hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), textured vegetable protein (TVP), textured soy protein (TSP), textured soy flour (TSF), lecithin, meat analogs, isolated soy protein, isolated vegetable protein, soy protein concentrate, and structured protein fiber (SPF). Of course, soy bran, soy fiber, soy nuts, soy oil, soy sauce, soy grits, soy meal are also made from soybeans.

Unless you stick with certified organic foods, you will need to avoid any products with the ingredients listed above if you want to minimize your risk of GE foods. There are simply too much GE corn and soybean crops being raised for you to be sure that your non-organic foods are "GE safe".

Organic will help you avoid GE foods

Since the National Organics Program forbids the genetic modification of foods to be certified as organic, you can go a long way in avoiding GE foods by purchasing organic. For example, a food that is certified as 100% organic cannot contain any of the ingredients listed above if those ingredients have been derived from genetically engineered corn or soy.

"Non-GMO" or ""GMO-free" on food labels

Unfortunately, no labeling laws for GE foods exist in the United States, even though England, France, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, China, Indonesia, and over 25 other countries require labeling of GE foods. (Some GE food crops are actually banned in many countries, including England, Japan, Brazil, Norway, India, and Thailand). In the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has generally discouraged the use of terms like "GMO-free" or "non-GMO" on food labels and has expressed concern about these terms as being misleading. From the FDA's perspective, any statement that implies superiority of a "GMO-free" food is misleading because they note that there is no scientific evidence to support any increased health risks associated with GE foods. While I agree that scientific studies are sadly lacking in this area, I also believe that GE foods can logically be expected to bring with them added health risks, and I would like to see all GE foods and non-GE foods clearly labeled for this reason. However, until such labeling is widely adopted, the only way to lower your GMO risks is to stick with certified organic foods. Fortunately, with the exception of water and fish, every single one of the World's Healthiest Foods is available as certified organic!

References

Center for Food Safety. (2008). Genetically engineered food. Campaign report available online at: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/geneticall7.cfm.

Fernandez-Cornejo J and Caswell M. (2006). The First Decade of Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States. U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, Economic Information Bulletin No. (EIB-11) 36pp. Available online at: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/EIB11/.

Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology. (2004). Genetically Modified Crops in the United States. Pew Charitable Trusts, Washington, D.C. Available online at: http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=17950

Tomato Salad Express

Here's what you juice together: 2 tomatoes, 1/4 green pepper, handful of parsley and of spinach...and wheat grass - very cool.



Here's where you juice it...



Add a little Hemp powder and badda bing badda boom. This alone takes care of almost 5 of my required daily 10 fruits/vegetables. How you doin' so far?

And no, it's not a Heineken.

Erm...

I don't even know where to begin..l

What are the basic organic standards for livestock (animals)?

Quite simply, organic livestock must be fed organic feed.

The NOSB recommends that conventional feed be allowed only if the organic feed supply has been compromised by a national, state or local weather emergency, or by fire or flood on an organic farm.

Growth promoters and hormones, and plastic pellets for roughage in feed are prohibited. Synthetic vitamins and minerals are allowed.

Organic Livestock Production

Standards for organic livestock production are meant to assure both an organic product to the consumer and living conditions for farm animals that limit stress and promote good health. They address substances used in health care and feeding, as well as herd or flock management and housing.

Livestock includes cattle, sheep, goats, swine, poultry, fish, wild or domesticated game and horses raised for slaughter or used as draft animals. There are even standards for organic bee-keeping.

Regardless of whether they're raised as breeding stock, as dairy animals, or for slaughter, all livestock is covered by the Act.

The following highlights address some of the questions most frequently asked about the NOSB Recommendations for Organic Livestock Standards.

Housing and Health Care for Organic Livestock

Healthy living conditions and attentive care are considered first steps in the prevention of illness. Therefore, animals must not be overcrowded, and must be allowed periodic access to the outdoors and direct sunlight.

Antibiotics, wormers and other medications may not be used routinely as preventative measures. See The National List for specific details on medications recommended by the NOSB for use in organic livestock health care.

Recordkeeping for Organic Livestock

Records must be kept on all feeding and health care practices for each animal or flock, and there must be a verifiable audit trail to trace any animal or flock back to the farm.

I crack myself up...

People of Walmart

Okay. This is by FAR the FUNNIEST thing I've seen in awhile. It's a toss up which is funnier, the pics or the captions. Hilarious!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADAM!


Who needs cake? Pie! Although, kind of ruined the presentation when Mom inadvertently blew out a few of the candles. /sigh


Helmet cam


Kewl, right?


A Goofball for....

Give Me A Hug! Incredible...

Doh!

THIS is amazing!

Yes kiddies...

...this is a PINK Mustang complete, I might add, with PINK bucket leather seats. Some things should NEVER EVER be P-I-N-K!!!

Remember Inspector Gadget...?

See more funny videos and Entertainment Videos at Today's Big Thing.

American capitalism gone with a whimper - Pravda.Ru

American capitalism gone with a whimper - Pravda.Ru

Posted using ShareThis

Check it out...

IRS Debunks the Rich Not Paying Fair Share of Taxes

8/5/09 9:37 AM
July 29, 2009

Tax Burden of Top 1% Now Exceeds That of Bottom 95%
by Scott A. Hodge

Newly released data from the IRS clearly debunks the conventional Beltway rhetoric that the "rich" are not paying their fair share of taxes.

Indeed, the IRS data shows that in 2007—the most recent data available—the top 1 percent of taxpayers paid 40.4 percent of the total income taxes collected by the federal government. This is the highest percentage in modern history. By contrast, the top 1 percent paid 24.8 percent of the income tax burden in 1987, the year following the 1986 tax reform act.

Remarkably, the share of the tax burden borne by the top 1 percent now exceeds the share paid by the bottom 95 percent of taxpayers combined. In 2007, the bottom 95 percent paid 39.4 percent of the income tax burden. This is down from the 58 percent of the total income tax burden they paid twenty years ago.

To put this in perspective, the top 1 percent is comprised of just 1.4 million taxpayers and they pay a larger share of the income tax burden now than the bottom 134 million taxpayers combined.

Some in Washington say the tax system is still not progressive enough. However, the recent IRS data bolsters the findings of an OECD study released last year showing that the U.S.—not France or Sweden—has the most progressive income tax system among OECD nations. We rely more heavily on the top 10 percent of taxpayers than does any nation and our poor people have the lowest tax burden of those in any nation.

We are definitely overdue for some honesty in the debate over the progressivity of the nation's tax burden before lawmakers enact any new taxes to pay for expanded health care.

It looks like they're gaming. But are they? Hmmmm....

Nora

I've said it 1000 times: cats rule. Let me say it 1001. Dogs could never play the piano because their slobber would ruin the piano keys. Blech.

The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard

The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard

Amy Lee, man!

I don't appreciate many female singers. Amy Lee I do.

Search history history

Unfreekenbelievable

I have said to people before that the government can do what ever it wants whenever it wants to. That the laws that are in place now will simply be revised or removed at the pleasure of the government to serve its needs. Democracy is on fade.....

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Check out how after the guy does this stunt he appears to keep looking back to the slide like he's amazed he's conscious! Heh.

Slap Chop It Baby

Slap Chop Rap Remix - watch more funny videos

I LUV this guy! Best commercial since Aflac and the E-Trade commercials.

Break-it-down!

Fireworks

These videos may not seem especially outstanding. But realize that I am shooting this in my lawn chair laying almost prone with my head tilted all the way back and shooting straight up over my head. The fireworks were directly above me.

Before it got too dark to see, we could see the mortor tubes being lit and fired into the air. Cool beans.

As it happened, we ended up seeing three series of fireworks this year. Not planned. But cool none the less. :>

Aflac?

Do the math babies!

Exactly..

Food, Inc.

Land of the Lost

The discription of this movies begins, "Space-time vortexes suck." Hey. This movie sucks. I can't remember the last time I saw a movie this bad. And the fact that this movie was actually done four years ago and Will Ferrell has since then further perfected his craft [which IMO is highly debateable], who cares? The best parts were the previews on TV, and they weren't all that terrific. I can't believe I got suckered and went to this. Too bad. There was a lot of potential here.

Btw. I realized that I don't think I have ever seen the original Land of of the Lost. Am I the only one on the planet then?

Visiting Mom

Haven't posted in a bit. Stuff. You know...

At Mom's for two weeks. Heading back this weekend. Been busy with yard work: edging the driveway [that was more like taking a shovel and a pick axe to the sod growing over the driveway], cutting overhanging branches off of some trees [you really have no idea how many trees there really are until you start doing this], planting flowers, killing ants [they were living in paradise until I arrived], and sweeping and raking those propellers that sail down from the trees this time of year [this goes back to before with all the trees...the propellers pile up on mounds there are so many...when the wind blows it looks like it's snowing].

The weather has been perfect while where I live it's in the full throws of summer heat. Neener neener. :D

Mom on the other hand is another story. Since Dad died it's a new experience for me to see her this way. It's scary. It stresses me, but I certainly don't complaint because of what she is going through. The depth of despair that comes from another human being is something to behold.

Cougar vs Bear

Crazy Hilarious

Ferrari in paris

Finally, a video that LASTS for awhile while zipping through the countryside, or city as it were...or Paris for THAT matter! I thought the shifting and handling of this car was amazing. Obviously an expert was driving.

Yes, this is what I thought, only to read afterwards that there is a possibility this could be fake in some way.

I don't care. I choose to play dumb, and enjoy. Cuz this will be the closest I'll ever get to doing this; living vicariouly through this video....

"On an August morning in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris early in the morning . The film was limited for technical reasons to 10 minutes; the course was from Porte Dauphine , through the Louvre, to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur.
No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit.
The driver completed the course in about 9 minutes, reaching nearly 140 MPH in some stretches. The footage reveals him running real red lights, nearly hitting real pedestrians, and driving the wrong way up real one-way streets.
Upon showing the film in public for the first time, Lelouch was arrested. He has never revealed the identity of the driver, and the film went underground."

Kermie drove me to work this morning...

There's a Birthday in the House

The Birthday Boy turns 1! Look at Birthday Boy blow out his candle. Poor Kermie...

Walk On

The Demographics of the Muslems

Intolerance:

Tolerance:

Ever wonder what a God-given gift sounds like?

Amazing! I get exhausted watching!

April Snow Showers? In Georgia? It's definately the end of the world...

I spent all of my dream researching and investigating a newly discovered book in the Bible. The name of the book is......Frank. Yep. Matthew Mark Luke John..............and Frank. This is what happens when you mix antihistamines with wine. :P

We used to go to this restaurant in town almost every Saturday. The food got bad for some reason so we stopped going there. But every Saturday the same corvette would arrive. So, after some time of not eating there, we stopped in -- and who should be there??? :>

[Is the food any better? Great of you don't count grissle.]

Aahh!



Aaaaahhhhh!!



AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

"...devalued Prime Minister of a devalued government"

Karma Kula

Men's Brain vs Women's Brain

ROFL

This is a direct quote from a podcast I listened to from Scott Sigler done in his ever so familiar lilt of sacasm that he does so well:

"When the bell rings an angel gets its wings, an Ancestor comes along and bites its head off."

C r a c k e d me up! Of course you'd have to know the context to get it. Don't? Too bad.

Cool

My son showed me this pic -- and it does look like the seal is a camera hog! Heh!

Hilarious

null - Watch more free videos

Unlock Your Survivor IQ...

I'm a Fighter. :D

Dream

So I'm scaling a wall in this castle. I look behind me as I am trying to make my way up a rope that is dangling from an opening above me, and I see a line of many people. Apparently they are following me out of darkness below. I have some trouble getting into the opening because the rope, at its end, changes to a smooth piece of material that is hard for me to grip without slipping. I finally manage to hoist myself up into the opening when I notice, for the first time, that I am gripping a long sword in the right hand. The sword it quite long and sharp and thin with a groove along it. The hilt is fairly simple, wrapped in black leather with a plain black tassel hanging from it.

At this point I also notice that the opening seems foreign to the castle as it is cut perfectly square. Then I realize that I may have lead my people into a trap and I panic because I need to quickly think of a way to tell them to turn back. I stand up and move with my back along a castle wall. It is dark, but I manage to make out two wolf-like forms. I raise my sword and yell, "En Garde!" Before anything happens the room lights up and I see a man who might be an alien being standing in front of me. He has golden-blond hair and gold symbols I do not recognize on his clothing. He says, "I am a Cylon."

I look around and notice the room is set up as if to prepare for a class of some kind or for a speech by the cylons. People are glathering to listen.

Then Steve wakes me up to say goodbye before he leaves for work.

And here's where the dream begins.....

Superbowl '09 - scroll from bottom to top

This is either a real serious moment in the game, or a very kewl commercial.

Me and my nephew. And who would we be rooting for?

Kick-off baby!


Here's a heart-stopper for you. Yum..

I Then Shall Live

I'm not into the Gaither Brothers so much, but this song, together with its lyrics is pretty powerful to me.

We had a soloist at church sing this. It was the first time I heard it. She had an excellent voice and barely any accompaniment. It was a real WOW momment for me.

Oh yeah. Here's another invisibility deal....

In high school a friend and I compete in a Key Club talent contest. We win second place. [Beat out by a drum soloist.] No one took pictures. There was no mention of the entire contest in the yearbook, much less the winners.

Too bad.

Random Acts of Citizenship: Pickin' Up Trash After Inauguration

130 tons and counting...

As I mentioned previously, I am [since it's new year] logging my incidences of being overlook, forgotten, and generally being invisible.

I belong to an organization for about nine years now, involved on most every level locally and some nationally. New year. New Board. New secretary. Passes out small cards with the lunch item we ordered along with our name. Everyone gets one but me. Ah yes. Overlooked once more.

In October the Principals of our firms city-wide came to an annual gathering we host. During the gathering the Board decided this year to hand out certificates to those members that contributed in some way during the year -- and firms as well. So there I am, sitting with two of my Principals my certificates get completely overlooked [there's that word again] along with the certificate announcing the monetary contribution the firm made to this organiztino. I get an appology at the office after the meeting. That's nice. But...would have been nice for the Principals to hear what I had be doing during the year, and for them to be reconized among others in the industry that contributed along with them. Get this: one of the Principals, while the certificates were being announced, whispered to me that I suppose you're getting a few of these. Then. Nothing. Ugh!

US funds for abortion

Here's the quote from Population Action International:

"Family planning should not be a political issue; it's about basic health care and well-being for women and children," it said. "Women's health has been severely impacted by the cutoff of assistance. President Obama's actions will help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, abortions and women dying from high-risk pregnancies because they don't have access to family planning."

Then there's the statistic that 49,551,703 [yes that's 49.5 MILLION] abortions have been performed in the US since 1973. If that figure gives you pause [and if it doesn't you have no conscience], perhaps you need to take that pause and explore it.

Of course there are women who need medical help when they are pregnant. I don't know if each and everyone of those cases would require an abortion. But almost 50 MILLION since 1973?!

NPR held a call-in last year on the anniversary of Roe vs Wade. I don't believe I would be exaggerating to state that almost all of them that called in expressed deep, lingering regret. As a matter of fact, that was a direct quote from one of the callers.

50 MILLION dancers, singers, rocket scientists. 50 MILLION souls.

Every 10 years something bigger than the other years in between occurs, and not always a good thing. I listed them in another blog I subscribed to, but I cancelled it awhile ago and I'm too lazy to list them again even thought it's not that many. I mean. I'm not 100.

Aanywaay...2008 was my '10th'. It was a year of self-discovery, apparently. Here's what I found out:

1. I have what is known as a 'chirpy' in an eye, which is like a mole. I was born with it, but is was not seen before now. It's on the very edge or peripheral of my eye so it's very hard to see. I have to get checked once a year to be sure it doesn't turn cancerous, which is rare. After three more years I can't quite with the annual check ups.

2. I have keratoconus [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratoconus] in both eyes, discovered when I was checked to see if I could have lazik surgery. It's a sloughing of or steepening of the shape of the eye. It's hereditary, but I don't know from whom. Ten years ago there was no test for this and I would have had a lot of problems with my eyes if I would have had this done.

3. I asked my dermatologist a question about a surgery. It wasn't a surgery I wanted for myself, but I was curious what his thoughts were on it. He suddenly asked me to bend my thumb back to my wrist as far as I could. Well. I can just about touch my wrist with my thumb. He told me I was double jointed and any surgery would leave a slight scar. [I have noticed this in past surgeries but thought it was normal.] He said I have a very mild condition where the collagen in my skin and connective tissues is set further apart than normal skin. It's called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehlers-Danlos_Syndrome] I guess if I had the full blown syndrome I'd be like those people in the circus that can stretch their body like a rubber band.

4. I have adrenal fatigue. Your adrenal gland kicks in whenever your body is under stress; negative stress or positive stress. Guess it came in handy during the hunter/gatherer times. It means I have a diminished 'backup' in these situations. I become super stressed physically and overly tired. If I had adrenal failure, I'd be hospitalized with a nervous breakdown. What causes this is either ongoing stresses with no relief, or one big stressor. You have to nurse your strength back both mentally and physically but making the right decisions and reducing the stress around you. Of course that means the people around you need to to their part to help. Yeah. Right. The symptoms are not apparent to those around you. You appear as if you are behaving normal. I'd like to invite you in my head for a day..

5. My cortisol is flipped. It should be low and night so I can sleep and high in the morning so I am awake and alert. I'm backwards. Between this and the adrenal fatigue, you can feel 100 years old.

6. I have osteopenia, a precursor to osteoporosis. I had no idea 51% of all women get osteoporosis! How come we're not hearing about this so that we can get our young women on a healthy regimen at an early age to prevent this? Is it possible there's money to be made on this in the health care industry? Say it isn't so! Cod liver oil is gross I'm told, but it will prevent bone loss taken throughout the years. Take it with a teaspoon of sugar. Better than risking your skeletal structure.

7. I have random breakouts that are a result of being resistant to food. Which food...I dunno. Do I want to go through all that fool allergy testing nonsense to find out? No.

You know, all my life I've been healthy as a horse. Dang DNA.

Select a date and listen...

Is was kind of nostalgic to listen to tunes connected to family members – especially to hear those with the static in the background. :>

Visiting friends...

Hooking up with Deb and Jim takes me W A Y back -- and it's like there was no time in between visits. Cool.

Um. It's pretty obvious the one who's consuming the wine is the camera holder. I'll let you guess who that is...

Visiting friends...

It's easy to see why we love hooking up with Patty and Brent when we can....

Okay. New lable for some blogs going forward in '09; the 'mini-vent.' Yep. It's my blog, and too bad if you think it's stupid, but these are my vents, mini as they may be. I declare early on that these vents will 100% relate to my theory that I am invisible in this world.

How many of you can say that you have been skipped when waiting in the drive-thru at at Starbucks? Today, I can.

/sigh

Scooter Girl demontrates her prowess at...jumping!

This is the video of Adam taking still shots of Scooter-Girl. You can see the results in the previous blogs that shows the stills.

This I wasn't too concerned about in '08...

Oil consumption
US money supply
World population; exponential growth
Worldwide water use
Species extinction
Fisheries exploited
Forest loss

Scooter-Girl an Olympic Champion in "Get-the-ball!"

FDIC Strategic Plan 2005 - 2010

Gleaned a few things from speed reading this document...

Ultimately the FDIC will pursue regulatory and statutory solutions as it is effected by business cycles of agriculture, commercial real estate, energy, interest rates, inflation, unemployment.

Adverse economic or financial conditions abroad are taken into account.

An economic downturn could adversely impact the financial services industry resulting in slower asset growth, increased loan losses, and dimished profitability.

Concentration of deposits in fewer insured depository institutions increases risks to the funds in the event a large insured depository institution fails. This could be from a sudden and large fraud perpetrated, also, national disasters, public policy changes, sudden economincal financial market crises.

Check this out by Chuck Norris

Letter from Troy Clarke, President of General Motors - followed by a response from Gregory Knox of Knox Machinery

Dear Employees & suppliers,

Next week, Congress and the current Administration will determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation's history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis......................As an employee or supplier, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have your voice heard.
Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support.

Troy Clarke President General Motors North America
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Gregory Knox,

In response to your request to call legislators and ask for a bailout for the United States automakers please consider the following, and please also pass this onto Troy Clark, the president of General Motors North America for me.

You are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has bred like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping the nation, awaiting our new "messiah" to wave his magical wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep "living the dream"...

The dream is over!

The dream that we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded "laborers" without paying the price for these atrocities...and that still the masses will line up to buy our products.

Don't tell me I'm wrong. Don't accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW, Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countless other automotive OEM's and Tier ones for 3 decades now throughout the Midwest and what I've seen over the years in these union shops can only be described as disgusting.

Mr. Clark, the president of General Motors, states:

There is widespread sentiment in this country, our government and especially in the media that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management. It is not...

You're right - it's not JUST management...how about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag ass...so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time...for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour week.
How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics...for putting out too many parts on a shift...and for being too productive (mustn't expose the lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?) Do you really not know about this stuff?!?
How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea: over the last few years ...we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors.

What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!?

Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them?

The K car vs. the Accord?

The Pinto vs. the Civic?!?

Do I need to go on?

We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United States auto industry for decades.

Time to pay for your sins, Detroit.

I attended an economic summit last week where a brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of "bailout money". Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems, but despite what people like George Bush and Troy Clark would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day... and something else would happen...where there had been greedy and sloppy banks new efficient ones would pop up...that is how a free market system works...it does work...if we would let it work...

But for some reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn't work - that we need the government to step in and "save us"...save us, hell - we're nationalizing...and unfortunately too many of this once fine nations citizens don't even have a clue that this is what's really happening...but they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams...yeah - THAT'S important...

Does it occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades now in this country?...

How can that be???

Let's see...

Fuel efficient...

Listening to customers...

Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul...

Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr W Edwards Deming 4 decades ago.

Ever increased productivity through quality, lean and six sigma plans...

Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like "the enemy"...

Efficient front and back offices...

Non union environment...

Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn't be telling anyone anything they really don't already know in their hearts.

I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into - my children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did at their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way) - I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work them through.

Radical concept, huh...

Am I there for them in the wings? Of course - but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults.

I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government.
Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins.

Bad news people - it's coming whether we like it or not.

The newly elected Messiah really doesn't have a magic wand big enough to "make it all go away" I laughed as I heard Obama "reeling it back in" almost immediately after the vote count was tallied..."we might not do it in a year...or in four..." where was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for the office.

Stop trying to put off the inevitable ...

That house in Florida really isn't worth $750,000...

People who jump across a border really don't deserve free health care benefits...
That job driving that forklift for the big 3 really isn't worth $85,000 a year...
We really shouldn't allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelves with products acquired from a country that unfairly manipulates their currency and has the most atrocious human rights infractions on the face of the globe...

That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn't be living in that $485,000 home...

Let the market correct itself people - it will. Yes it will be painful, but it's gonna be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it is a nation that appreciates what is has...and doesn't live beyond its means...and gets back to basics...and redevelops the work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world...and probably turns back to God.
Sorry - don't cut my head off, I'm just the messenger sharing with you the "bad news"

Gregory J. Knox
President
Knox Machinery, Inc.
Franklin, Ohio 45005

Saving Our Economy. Very Revealing.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/39817/fox-news-specials-saving-our-economy-what-next

Celente Predicts Revolution, Food Riots, Tax Rebellions By 2012

The man who predicted the 1987 stock market crash and the fall of the Soviet Union is now forecasting a revolution in America, food riots and tax rebellions - all within four years, while cautioning that putting food on the table will be a more pressing concern than buying Christmas gifts by 2012.

Gerald Celente, the CEO of Trends Research Institute, is renowned for his accuracy in predicting future world and economic events, which will send a chill down your spine considering what he told Fox News this week.

Celente says that by 2012 America will become an undeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts.

"We're going to see the end of the retail Christmas....we're going to see a fundamental shift take place....putti ng food on the table is going to be more important that putting gifts under the Christmas tree," said Celente, adding that the situation would be "worse than the great depression".

"America's going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for," said Celente, noting that people's refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis.

Celente, who successfully predicted the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis, the subprime mortgage collapse and the massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar, told UPI in November last year that the following year would be known as "The Panic of 2008," adding that "giants (would) tumble to their deaths," which is exactly what we have witnessed with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others. He also said that the dollar would eventually be devalued by as much as 90 percent.

The consequence of what we have seen unfold this year would lead to a lowering in living standards, Celente predicted a year ago, which is also being borne out by plummeting retail sales figures.

The prospect of revolution was a concept echoed by a British Ministry of Defence report last year, which predicted that within 30 years, the growing gap between the super rich and the middle class, along with an urban underclass threatening social order would mean, "The world's middle classes might unite, using access to knowledge, resources and skills to shape transn ational processes in their own class interest," and that, "The middle classes could become a revolutionary class."

In a separate recent interview, Celente went further on the subject of revolution in America.

"There will be a revolution in this country," he said. "It's not going to come yet, but it's going to come down the line and we're going to see a third party and this was the catalyst for it: the takeover of Washington, D. C., in broad daylight by Wall Street in this bloodless coup. And it will happen as conditions continue to worsen."

"The first thing to do is organize with tax revolts. That's going to be the big one because people can't afford to pay more school tax, property tax, any kind of tax. You're going to start seeing those kinds of protests start to develop."

"It's going to be very bleak. Very sad. And there is going to be a lot of homeless, the likes of which we have never seen before. Tent cities are already sprouting up around the country and we're going to see many more."

"We're going to start seeing huge areas of vacant real estate and squatters living in them as well. It's going to be a picture the likes of which Americans are not going to be used to. It's going to come as a shock and with it, there's going to be a lot of crime. And the crime is going to be a lot worse than it was before because in the last 1929 Depression, people's minds weren't wrecked on all these modern drugs - over-the-counter drugs, or20crystal meth or whatever it might be. So, you have a huge underclass of very desperate people with their minds chemically blown beyond anybody's comprehension."

The George Washington blog has compiled a list of quotes attesting to Celente's accuracy as a trend forecaster.

"When CNN wants to know about the Top Trends, we ask Gerald Celente."
- CNN Headline News

"Gerald Celente has a knack for getting the zeitgeist right."
- USA Today

"There's not a better trend forecaster than Gerald Celente. The man knows what he's talking about."
- CNBC

"Those who take their predictions seriously ... consider Gerald Celente and the Trends Research Institute."
- The Wall Street Journal

"Gerald Celente is always ahead of the curve on trends and uncannily on the mark ... he's one of the most
accurate forecasters around."
- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Mr. Celente tracks the world's social, economic and business trends for corporate clients."
- The New York Times

"Mr. Celente is a very intelligent guy. We are able to learn about trends from an authority."
- 48 Hours, CBS News

"Gerald Celente has a solid track record. He has predicted everything from the 1987 stock market crash
and the demise of the Soviet Union to green marketing and corporate downsizing."
- The Detroit News

"Gerald Celente forecast the 1987 stock market crash, 'green marketing,' and the boom in gourmet coffees."
- Chicago Tribune

"The Tre nds Research Institute is the Standard and Poors of Popular Culture."
- The Los Angeles Times

"If Nostradamus were alive today, he'd have a hard time keeping up with Gerald Celente."
- New York Post

Peter Schiff

EVERYONE was snickering at this guy. Wish I would have heard his side of things in '06 and '07!!

Bloomberg sues the Fed

I've often mentioned that the government will do whatever the government wants to do if they want to do it badly enough.

Usually I get a glazed over look and a quick exit, or eyes roll up into the back of the head followed by some comment that, bottom line, means "You're nuts!"

Yeah? Well, take a look at this, and now tell me what you think?

Meet Scooter-Girl!

Here she is! This is Scooter-Girl. It's Steve's cat and a companion for our 1-yr old, Cleo [my cat]. We got her from the animal shelter, who was a pleasure to deal with compared to the Animal Humane Society, and a LOT less expensive. I will never adopt a pet from the Animal Humane Society again. Just ask anyone who knows me. And I won't rehash my experience here, much to everyone's relief I'm sure. :P

Scooter chases this fuzzy little ball non stop. And I mean just that. She returns it at a gallop right to your hand or lap. She's a lot of fun.

Oh, and do you think Cleo approves of her? :>

I Love Fall!

The colors of the trees this year are amazing. I took this yesterday while driving on the interstate. I don't recomend that, btw... The trees were even more brilliantly colored the week before. Since then it rained and washed some of the leaves off. Still. Not bad.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/v/victory-ignored.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjMiDZIY1bM

I re-listened to "How to Succeed in Evil" from The Seanachi podcast, just so I could hear this song again. It shows up in "How to Succeed in Evil - Part II". It was worth it. I found a video with this song on YouTube.

Here are the words if you want to sing along:

Heya Tom, it’s Bob from the office down the hall
Good to see you buddy, how’ve you been?
Thing have been OK for me except that I’m a zombie now
I really wish you’d let us in
I think I speak for all of us when I say I understand
Why you folks might hesitate to submit to our demand
But here’s an FYI: you’re all gonna die screaming

All we want to do is eat your brains
We’re not unreasonable, I mean, no one’s gonna eat your eyes
All we want to do is eat your brains
We’re at an impasse here, maybe we should compromise:
If you open up the doors
We’ll all come inside and eat your brains

I don’t want to nitpick, Tom, but is this really your plan?
To spend your whole life locked inside a mall?
Maybe that’s OK for now but someday you’ll be out of food and guns
And then you’ll have to make the call
I’m not surprised to see you haven’t thought it through enough
You never had the head for all that bigger picture stuff
But Tom, that’s what I do, and I plan on eating you slowly

All we want to do is eat your brains
We’re not unreasonable, I mean, no one’s gonna eat your eyes
All we want to do is eat your brains
We’re at an impasse here, maybe we should compromise:
If you open up the doors
We’ll all come inside and eat your brains

I’d like to help you Tom, in any way I can
I sure appreciate the way you’re working with me
I’m not a monster Tom, well, technically I am
I guess I am

I’ve got another meeting Tom, maybe we could wrap it up
I know we’ll get to common ground somehow
Meanwhile I’ll report back to my colleagues who were chewing on the doors
I guess we’ll table this for now
I’m glad to see you take constructive criticism well
Thank you for your time I know we’re all busy as hell
And we’ll put this thing to bed
When I bash your head open

All we want to do is eat your brains
We’re not unreasonable, I mean, no one’s gonna eat your eyes
All we want to do is eat your brains
We’re at an impasse here, maybe we should compromise:
If you open up the doors
We’ll all come inside and eat your brains

—Dwight D. Eisenhower, Second Inaugural Address, January 21, 1957

Whereas, it is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

Commute

Just an example of my hour + commute back and forth into work. Every day. For 15 years.

You know, it didn't start out this way. In the beginning my commute was between 5 - 15 minutes one way.

/sigh

When there was no gas...

I took this on the way to work. It's an example of what Atlanta would look like as a third world country - no gas. This lasted for three weeks. It was awful.

People were getting gas at three and four in the morning. During the day people parked their cars at the gas station pumps and any available parking spaces waiting for a tanker truck to bring gas to the station. There was talk of closing schools for part of the week and not selling gas for one day a week. Steve went out twice to gas up his bike and came back on reserve. When I was low on gas, he would ride his bike to a station with gas and call me so I knew were to go and not waste gas trying to find gas.

We get ALL our gas in the Atlanta area from two pipe lines. Both of those pipe lines come from the same place. Both of these pipe lines are at risk every year from hurricanes. Hello! I would get fired if I set something up as rediculous as this.

Glory

Steve and I were sitting on the back porch when Steve looked at the sky and said that this would sure make a good picture. So I ran in and got the camera. I got these shots off just before the sun came away from the cloud.

Well worth the effort I might add.

No Fuel!

There's hardly any gas in the area I live and work in, which is mostly north and northeast of Atlanta. It's unbelieveable.

I guess there is an additive to our gas that minimizes pollution that is more difficult to get now that the hurricane has come through Texas.

This morning Ia came across a Quik Trip and stopped. Something happened that never does to me. The station was crammed with cars waiting to get gas. I pull in just as a truck backs up to leave and I pull in his spot. Awesome! Until I realize I've left my wallet at home. It took me longer to get out that it did to get in.

So after work Steve rode out on his motorcycle to find a gas station with gas. He calls me and I head over to it. Three pumps. Three lines. Prepay only. I was running low enough that I kept my engine turned off. So it's just me and the gal in front of me. She opens her car door and I hear her say, "Oh fxxx, my tank's on the other side." She pulls away with no gas. Now it's my turn. And now is when I realize I have lost my check card. Called my bank and it will be 7-10 business days before I get it. I'll be on vacation by then.

You know, it's tough bein' me.

Cats -- Part Deu

So I bought this cool cleaning stuff for countertops from Whole Foods. It did a quite nice job on my counters I should say...

But, ah ha! What do I spy? The trail of a cat on my counter as clear as day. You know why this trail is as clear as day? It is because the routine of this cat is to use the litterbox, and THEN jump up on the counters to do a little cat jig on the counters when no one is around to see.

Ewwww

I know which cat this is. And one day I will catch her doing her jig, and then... [yes you guessed it] the jig will be up!!!

heh

Hurlin' Cats

Looking carefully you can see what looks like a water spill. Technically, yes. It is water. That spilled. Out of a cat. Who, while I was out, carefully jumped up onto the coffee table and 'spilled' its cat food onto one corner of the table, and then proceeded to walk over to MY papers and 'spill' onto them.

Once again Steve is chuckling unmercifully, as he and I full well know, cats love to hurl on MY stuff.

Blech.

It's the Emmys!!!

I love love love the Emmys.

I'm really stumped with the Outstanding Drama category. I mean, Lost, Mad Men, House?! That's a hard one. I'm leaning towards Lost and House for this, but I'll say...House.

Outstanding Actor?... It's really between Hugh Laurie and Jon Hamm for me. Those are the only two shows out of the bunch that I watch anyway. I'm going with Laurie.

Outstand Actress... Basically, it's a yawn for me here. I mean, Sedgwick for OUTSTANDING actress? I watch the show all the time, and it's good. She's fun to watch, but that nasally, fakey, phony southern accent is pretty bad. As accents go, Outstanding Actress should go to Hugh Laurie.

Outstanding Supporting Actor HAS to go to Michael Emmerson. HAS to.

Okay. Those are the only ones I care about this years. The rest are not really standouts for me. Let's face it. TV shows have been the lamest this year since the strike. Getting more channels in HD is not helping this. At all.

HEH

...is this old? It might be. Think it's cool beans anyway.

Hot Pockets!

This is really funny. I could watch this video over and over. And I have. Funnee stuff...

Check it out in my Video Bar.

To Dream. Perhaps to Laugh.

I had this dream where I was watching, from some ways off, two women in a conversation. I did not recognize either of them, but I think they were working in a hair salon. One turned to the other standing beside her and made a sarcastic comment about her love for country music. The other women giggled and started singing a country song to the other women. It must have been a pretty good sarcastic comment she was got because she didn't stop there. She turned behind her to a set of drawers and started pulling out items that I couldn't see very well from my vantage point. Although I did get a glance of some large sheet music. Suddenly, she ran over to an open area, had a mic in hand, a band behind her, and started performing. It was kinda crazy, and kinda funny. It's at this point I realize my son is sitting behind me, on some large cushion or something, watching the events unfold, and laughing with me.

Not to be out done, the other women runs over to the open space next to the women who is still performing, and has a huge band with her. What they are doing is a parody of the lady performing. The band is pulling out huge pieces of sheet music entitled "Music 101" in an attempt to mock the other women's band that is still playing. Then they act out playing their instruments in an exaggerated way, comically pantomiming playing their instruments, while crawling around all over each other. The whole time this is going on, my son and I are laughing so hard we can hardly stand it. Tears are rolling down my eyes, and my stomach is hurting. The parody goes on for some time, and we never stop laughing.

Until that durn alarm clock goes off.

You know. I have dreams where I am scared, depressed, confused, lost, tired, etc. I can never, ever remember having a dream where I am laughing for a long while until I'm utterly worthless. Heh.

I will say, some of my fondest memories growing up alongside my son, were the ones where we enjoyed a good laugh. So I've decided to give my stamp of approval on this dream, and hope to meet him there again soon - once my stomach isn't so sore.

Talk about your banner days, man!!

Yesterday,the mightly Scott Sigler, author -- and one of my favorite podcasters,in all his splendor and Silerism, accepted my invite to my LinkedIn page.

OH. MY. GOSH.