Chicken and Superbugs

In case you have just wandered onto this blog on a whim or random Google link, let me be clear about my food choices. I NEVER buy meats from the grocery stores, and not much produce except in winter when there’s no local hoophouse stuff available. I do as much home-grown and/or organic as possible.

My health is not good (stemming from years of work-related causes) but I'd probably be dead already if not for my food choices over the last few years. 

When I say I buy no commercial “no meats” I really mean it, but especially NOT any chicken. Here’s one reason why:

Half Of Supermarket ChickenHarbors Superbugs, Consumer Reports Finds

Tyson chicken houses are everywhere in Virginia, but thankfully none are very near me. They are now making biochar from the Tyson waste and I won’t even buy that for my garden. Yuck. Instead I use the charred bits from my wood stove on my garden.

I buy local organic grass-fed meats despite the higher cost, and I believe (in addition to being tasty) it benefits my health, plus cuts down my health-care costs. I cure my own bacon from domestic hogs that roam our wooded mountain slopes, and make my own butter from local cream that's not ultra-pasteurized. I also make a lot of my own cheese. Occasionally when I get off the mountain to a large city, I look for wild shrimp and fish but those gets harder to find every year. 

If you've tread much about native american and early settler life, you know they ate the organs of meat animals long before they'd eat the muscle meats. That's because the organs contain so much more nutrition that the muscles. We Americans choose less nutritious steak instead of organ meats, sacrificing nutrition for popular belief.

I admit I balk at eating brains, although my dad loved them scrambled with eggs. I eat liver, kidneys, heart, and sweetbreads. Some of the tougher cuts like hearts and kidneys sometimes get ground and used in a mixed country paté loaf. Do NOT even mention chitlins or tripe because I'm not going there!

Celebrating July 4th

Fourth of July Celebrations

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. "   
 
 ~Erma Bombeck

List of Politicians paid by Monsanto

Reprint of the List of Politicians paid by Monsanto

"Democrat or Republican, it doesn’t matter. As long as you can help Monsanto slide its icy tentacles into the food chain, there’s some financial tip available to you. Thankfully, many such ties can be exposed through some data digging, and thanks to diligent readers who send comprehensive news tips and other researchers out there, we now have an extensive list of politicians getting paid cold hard cash from GMO juggernaut Monsanto.

Keep in mind these are the figures we know, which means that behind the scenes we can expect these numbers to multiply extensively. But what is most amazing is that these politicians just don’t care that you know they’re receiving thousands of dollars from Monsanto! They sweep it under the carpet, but they are openly taking money from this corporation that has been caught running ‘slave-like’ rings and disregarding public health. We’re talking about a corporation that primarily aided in the creation of Agent Orange — the Vietnam-era chemical weapon that killed over 400,000 people and led to 500,000 plus birth defects.

Looking at these figures, over $260,000 was openly pumped into the House, and $122,000 was pumped into the Senate. And again, this is openly. I’m speculating, but I would imagine the real number to easily be in the millions. Can you imagine how much they must pay these politicians to shoot down GMO labeling bills that 90 plus percent of the entire country wants?
 
Monsanto paid Senator Roy Blunt to ‘help write’ the Monsanto Protection Act that grants Monsanto immunity from federal courts? Roy’s cash payment is not included in this list, however RT reports he received $64,250 towards his campaign from the company. Surely they didn't expect anything in return?

Politicians Paid By Monsanto

House of Representatives:
Total paid by Monsanto to Democrats: $72,000
Total paid by Monsanto to Republicans: $190,500

Barrow, John (D-GA) $2,500
Bishop, Sanford (D-GA) $5,000
Boehner, John (R-OH) $10,000
Braley, Bruce (D-IA) $5,000
Camp, Dave (R-MI) $5,000
Cantor, Eric (R-VA) $10,000
Clay, William L Jr (D-MO) $10,000
Cleaver, Emanuel (D-MO) $5,000
Conaway, Mike (R-TX) $2,000
Courtney, Joe (D-CT) $4,500
Crawford, Rick (R-AR) $2,500
Fincher, Steve (R-TN) $8,000
Gardner, Cory (R-CO) $7,500

Goodlatte, Bob (R-VA) $4,500
Graves, Sam (R-MO) $5,000
Griffin, Tim (R-AR) $1,000
Guthrie, Brett (R-KY) $1,000
Hanabusa, Colleen (D-HI)$5,000
Hannemann, Mufi (D-HI) $1,000
Hartzler, Vicky (R-MO) $3,000
Holden, Tim (D-PA) $1,000
Huelskamp, Tim (R-KS) $2,500
Hultgren, Randy (R-IL) $2,500
Jenkins, Lynn (R-KS) $2,500
Johnson, Timothy (R-IL) $3,000
King, Steven A (R-IA) $2,500
Kingston, Jack (R-GA) $7,000
Kinzinger, Adam (R-IL) $3,500
Kissell, Larry (D-NC) $5,000
Labrador, Raul (R-ID) $2,000
LaMalfa, Doug (R-CA) $1,000
Landry, Jeff (R-LA) $1,000
Latham, Tom (R-IA) $10,000
Loebsack, David (D-IA) $5,000
Long, Billy (R-MO) $2,500
Lucas, Frank D (R-OK) $10,000
Luetkemeyer, Blaine (R-MO) $5,000
Lungren, Dan (R-CA) $1,000
McIntyre, Mike (D-NC) $1,000
Neugebauer, Randy (R-TX) $1,000
Noem, Kristi (R-SD) $1,000
Nunes, Devin (R-CA) $3,500
Owens, Bill (D-NY) $2,000
Peterson, Collin (D-MN) $10,000
Rogers, Hal (R-KY) $7,500
Rokita, Todd (R-IN) $5,000
Roskam, Peter (R-IL) $1,000
Schilling, Bobby (R-IL) $3,000
Schock, Aaron (R-IL) $5,000
Shimkus, John M (R-IL) $5,000
Simpson, Mike (R-ID) $10,000
Smith, Adrian (R-NE) $5,000
Stutzman, Marlin (R-IN) $5,000
Thompson, Bennie G (D-MS) $10,000
Thompson, Glenn (R-PA) $1,000
Upton, Fred (R-MI) $5,000
Valadao, David (R-CA) $2,500
Wagner, Ann L (R-MO) $10,000

Walden, Greg (R-OR) $1,000
Walorski, Jackie (R-IN) $2,500
Womack, Steve (R-AR) $1,000

Senate
Total paid by Monsanto to Democrats: $37,500
Total  paid by Monsanto to Republicans: $85,000
Akin, Todd (R-MO) $3,500
Baucus, Max (D-MT) $1,000
Berg, Rick (R-ND) $10,000
Blunt, Roy (R-MO) $10,000
Boozman, John (R-AR) $5,000
Casey, Bob (D-PA) $2,500
Chambliss, Saxby (R-GA) $5,000
Fischer, Deb (R-NE) $5,000
Gillibrand, Kirsten (D-NY) $1,000
Grassley, Chuck (R-IA) $2,000
Hirono, Mazie K (D-HI) $1,000
Johanns, Mike (R-NE) $1,000
Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN) $5,000
Landrieu, Mary L (D-LA) $1,000
McCaskill, Claire (D-MO) $5,000
McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) $10,000
Moran, Jerry (R-KS) $2,500
Nelson, Ben (D-NE) $13,000
Rehberg, Denny (R-MT) $2,000
Risch, James E (R-ID) $3,500
Roberts, Pat (R-KS) $9,000
Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI) $8,000
Thompson, Tommy G (R-WI) $5,000
Wicker, Roger (R-MS) $1,000
Wilson, Heather A (R-NM) $2,500"

Gonna Quit going to see Doctors...

Yep, I'm thinking to quit going to see any doctors. (No, not really, it's just a negative thought wave I was having.) It seems every time I go, they find more problems, with some now showing up as severe.

I am a firm believer that we are all responsible for the consequences of our actions (including what and how we choose to eat), and I'm no different than anyone else in the aspect of how those choices affect us individually. However, I DO wish I had been better informed years ago about what consequences our food choices have on our health.

My food choices have been great for the last several years, but not so for the first 60 years of my life. (I think I can thank mis-information, advertising and greed for that.) I cannot change the earlier damage that's just now showing up, although hopefully I CAN keep it from getting worse by continuing a healthy, real food diet. I also hope I can pass along lots of healthy food information!

My young (under age 40) primary care physician will not agree with all my food choices, but I have to remember she's a product of what she was taught in medical school, which generally has little emphasis (if any) on good nutrition. She has already recommended a low- to almost non-fat diet and we know the brain thrives on saturated fats!

Medical schools teach how to treat or cure diseases, not how to prevent them. I simply cannot buy the concept of a low-fat diet (and those are too high in bad fats anyway), the excessive sugars found in many fruits and grains, and "foods" filled with fake chemical ingredients... vs. the real foods Nature intended.

Our Nonchalant Observance of Memorial Day

Graves at Arlington National Cemetery (Photo is in the Public Domain)

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday which occurs every year on the final Monday of May and is usually celebrated with the first picnic or BBQ of the summer, often neglecting or forgetting the real reason for the holiday. However, there are still many small towns and cities across the country that have local parades to honor those who gave their lives in military service, and fly the United States flag in profusion up and down the streets.

The small front yard of our county courthouse is stacked with rows and rows of American flags, each with a cross bearing the name, unit and date of a man or woman who died in service. We also have a parade.

Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service.

Memorial Day is not to be confused with Veterans Day; Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving, while Veterans Day celebrates the service of ALL U.S. military veterans, living or dead.

Tradition
On Memorial Day the flag of the United States is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.

The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country. At noon their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.

Recent History
On June 28, 1968, the Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved four holidays, including Memorial Day, from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend. The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971. After some initial confusion and unwillingness to comply, all 50 states adopted Congress' change of date within a few years.

The VFW stated in a 2002 Memorial Day Address:
"Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed a lot to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day."

A Short History of Medicine

The History of Medicine


2000 BC:  Here, eat this root.

1000 AD: That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.

1800 AD: That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.

1940 AD: That potion is snake oil. Here, take this pill.

1985 AD: That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.

2011 AD: That antibiotic doesn’t work any more. Here, eat this root.


Thanks to The Herbarium for this short history of medicine lesson!

Kent State

Lest we forget...

Check out "Ohio", by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. The pictures of military guns against unarmed students are scary.

(Thanks to Crooked Shade Farm. I never forgot the appalling tragedy and stupidity of our government but somehow lost the exact date.)

Too Good Not to Share...

God Made A Farmer

This was Paul Harvey's Dodge Ram Truck Super Bowl Commercial "God Made A Farmer"

http://vimeo.com/62344211

I never watch football, so I did not see it air. Perhaps you didn't either...

It's really a great short video, and no mention of Dodge except a couple of Ram trucks shown in 2-3 of the pictures. The rest is about being a Farmer.

No Farms, No Food. (Unless you have a garden!)

Hospital Food

Well, once again I ended up being taken by ambulance 2 hours southeast to Wake Forest Hospital, where I spent most of the last week. That makes 10 days of bring incarcerated since the end of January... and I say "incarcerated" simply because hospital food tastes like prison food (not that I've ever tasted prison food, but that I believe all institutional food is alike: ghastly).

They had me NPO for 36 hours while they did some testing, then on a clear liquid diet. The next day they allowed soft foods, including yogurt. I was surprised to read on the Yoplait Light Strawberry Yogurt label they served that it contained aspartame... Wouldn't you think a hospital dietitian would know better??

I don't even want to talk about the other foods they served, even though they had a menu where I could make my own choices. The choices were almost all pitiful, both in taste and nutrition. The closest thing to healthy was some cooked spinach, but I question the sauce ingredients (not stated) even though it was tasty.

One thing my doctors discovered is that my blood ammonia level was very high, but they found no reason for it after 3 days of tests. (I really didn't know we all have ammonia in our bloodstream.) The other blood work showed that I'm still way below normal in red and white blood cells, platelets, etc., and in fact I have lost some ground since the last labs on March 12 when they had shown slight improvement following my GI bleed in February.

The food advice my doctor gave me was to cut down on proteins. When I told him that all of my animal proteins are from grass-fed animals (or wild fish), his eyes glazed over... it meant absolutely nothing to him. To be fair, undigested proteins can increase ammonia levels, but the target should be how to improve digestion, not to eliminate the foods. The protein portion of my diet is within normal limits.

However, I DO think I'm slowly getting some sense of what's really going on with my health, and I think it all goes back to years of workplace chemical exposure that has damaged my liver. Kinda like the chemical exposure that is killing our honey bees... same syndrome, different chemicals.

I believe it is going to be up to me to take the data my allopathic doctors find in tests and integrate it with what I know, or can research, on solving the problem. I believe good nutrition is essential to both heal disease, and to prevent it, but most doctors do not hold the same beliefs. To me, there is a BIG difference in treating the symptoms, and finding and treating the cause.

For example, the ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 in our food intake needs to be 1:1 for optimum health, yet our diets generally fall short, to the tune of 20:1 and even as high as 40:1 on a fast food diet. I thought mine was pretty good, in the range of 4:1 (acceptable but not great), but reviewing my food intake since January 1, I find I have strayed. Just that fact all by itself, could have an impact on how my impaired liver is able to function, and how it affects my health.

Do you ever wonder "What If..."?

Sometimes I awaken with thought that somewhere just around the corner, or in some brief moment like an epiphany, I will suddenly find, know and really understand "the answers".  Does that happen with you?

After 72 years, I have yet to find any answers, and my Judeo-Christian childhood reminds me of the phrase "the finite mind of man is unable to understand the infinite mind of God". However, this is NOT a post about religion, so please don't go there.

Sometimes I wonder why I have spent 70+ years being taught an impressive number of unconnected skills and ideas (except they exist in real life where I believe everything is somehow connected). WHY was I taught all that? Who is there to inherit and continue to promote all this stuff? Who, in today's generation, even gives a damn? (Yes, I know there are quite a few of you out there... and hopefully the numbers are increasing.)

Sometimes I wonder about what's really in our genetic makeup. We have come very far in researching and understanding genes in the last few years, but I haven't seen posted anywhere if there's actually a gene for war-mongering, or if there's a gene for greed, or one for corruption. Yet those traits seem pervasive world-wide.

If those things are caused by genes, do we all carry a bit of them? If so, do we have the ability to overcome them? If we simply take the concept of "greed" from the corporate level down to the individual, personal level, what do we find? 

Is it greed when we find a very under-priced item being sold at a yard sale (perhaps from an elderly person who no longer has a clue about its current value), and we know we can re-sell it for many times their asking price?

Do we bring home pencils and ball-point pens from the office, or maybe even copy paper and trash-bag liners? Does saying "everyone does it" make something right?

What percentage of people do you think (who might be wealthy or even flat broke) still manage to return extra change accidentally given by a store clerk (who no doubt makes only minimum wage and has to make up the monetary difference in closing out the register at the end of the day)? One in 2 returns the overage? One in 10? One in 100? Or how often does the typical customer keep it as a "windfall" without ever considering ethics??

And as far as buying something... Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware) is a huge principle in commerce: without a warranty, the buyer takes the risk. 

What ever happened to good old handshakes where a man's word was his bond? Or the days when you could leave your house unlocked, and children could walk to school all the way from home, rather than just from Mommie's car in the school parking lot?

Where do we draw the line on what is right and what isn't? And is corporate greed really any different than filching pencils and pens from the office, except for the scale?

WHEN do we generate a loud enough voice (and clout) to insure a healthy food supply that's not tainted by corporate greed with hands in the pockets of our legislators? The 2011 Average CEO Pay at Standard and Poor's 500 Index Companies was over $12 million dollars EACH, and in my opinion it came at the expense of MY food supply and thus MY health.

Dropping the Other Shoe

A couple of days ago I posted about perfumes, and here's the other side of the story...

Like many people, I have a lot of allergies to fragrances, but surprisingly I have none to good quality perfumes that are not chemical-laden. So... is it the chemicals???

When I was in my 20's, I started breaking out in a rash from all my freshly laundered clothing, especially underwear. I tried almost every brand of laundry detergent on the market, and finally settled on hand-washing my underwear in Ivory soap or Woolite, and machine-washing all my outer clothing in Tide. It wasn't perfect, but it basically worked as long as I didn't use any fabric softener.

It was only many years later that Tide and some other brands started marketing "fragrance-free" detergents, and that helped. I can only assume there must have been a real hue and cry from lots of people suffering from some of the same allergic reactions to chemical fragrances that finally forced a few manufacturers to reduce or eliminate fragrances in laundry products.

However, the inclusion of chemical fragrances is not limited to laundry products. They exist in thousands of items like bars of soap, air fresheners, hand-sanitizing gels, candles, almost all commercially prepared food products, every household cleaner, fabrics still on the bolt, and probably a gazillion more that don't come to mind at the moment.

So if I go back to the implications of the signs in hospitals saying "no fragrances", is that really about true fragrances, or simply those that are chemically produced and exist everywhere?

What are they doing to us with all those chemicals? (And, if we lose all petroleum supplies, will all those chemical products disappear?)

Perfume, and Memories

Moon and Stars perfume bottles by Lalique

Ah, perfume... This may seem like a strange post from a woman who now dresses in jeans, flannel shirts and work boots 95% of the time, but I've had such a love/hate relationship with perfume most of my adult life that I thought I'd write about it. (Reminiscing about things I love.) The majority of my relationships with perfumes were in the "hate" column, at least until I was in my mid 40's.

I remember my mother always wore some kind of scent, and although I didn't much like most of them, they were simply a part of "Mother". (Remember, this was in the 1950's.) When I started dating, wearing some kind of perfume was as important as wearing clean underwear, and I started with those perfumes and colognes my mother wore. I didn't know back then that perfumes and colognes don't smell the same on everyone, due to the makeup of our individual body oils and pH.

After not much liking the scent of my mother's perfumes on me (and finally having a job and my own money), I started buying the scents my friends wore. Chanel No. 5 was very popular, as was Joy by Jean Patou. There were many others, names I've long forgotten.

As I moved up the corporate ladder (working then in the medical equipment sales field), signs began to appear in the lobbies and elevators in the hospitals where I made calls. The signs said no perfumes fragrances, as they can severely affect anyone with a respiratory problem. I think we've all been trapped at some point in an elevator with someone wearing a very strong perfume, cologne, or after-shave... enough to make us gag.

So I was relieved of wearing any perfume with my business attire... but I still had personal relationships in my non-work hours, and the belief from childhood that a woman should wear perfume. 

I don't even remember how I came to know my favorite perfume in the tiny blue bottles, but it's the only one I wear to this day (but not very often anymore). About the time I discovered this perfume, I also learned of "walking into the perfume", which is a great way to have the perfume remain a subtle scent, rather than over-powering. ("For a subtle perfuming of your hair and clothing, spray your perfume in the air and then walk through it. If you prefer a lighter overall smell and not concentrated on one part of your body, this may be the method for you, especially wonderful for a social event where there will be lots of people.")

Je Reviens Cologne

The perfume I finally discovered is Je Reviens, which means "I shall return", and is made by Worth in Paris. The famous glass artist Rene Lalique made the bottles for this perfume (and they are very collectible). I have one bottle (Moon and Stars) like the photo at the top of this post, and even after being empty for many years, just removing the stopper releases a whiff of pure pleasure for me.

Ahhhh....

Is Advertising dominating our holidays?

Photo by Tama Leaver

I'm just on a rant, so feel free to skip reading this post!

What kid in the US today, regardless of whether they are Christian, Rastafarian, Hindu, Buddhist, Pagan, Wiccan, Shinto, Zoroastrian, Islamic, Jewish or another religion, doesn't equate Easter with Cadbury Eggs and Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs? The kids are really lucky if Mom actually made some hard-boiled eggs and colored decorated them. It's all about SUGAR anymore. (And corporate profits from sugar-laden products. No wonder our health nationwide is declining.)

Photo by Jamiesrabbits

It's similar for the Christmas holiday, where the emphasis is on gift-giving... or New Year's Celebration with champagne, and Thanksgiving with the emphasis on Butterball turkeys rather than being Thankful. 

I'm not familiar with traditional holidays in religions around the world, but I'd be surprised if there isn't advertising (or at least being planned by BigAdvertising) influencing folks on where to spend their grocery money...

There's HOPE for Spring!!

Many of us have suffered a very long winter, whether covered in white snowfall, or just a dead-looking, forlorn brown landscape. Today while I was out and about, I came across a GREEN field, and it gives me hope that Spring really IS just around the corner.

I think this field must be planted with a cover crop, for there look to be shards of corn stalks here and there mixed in with the green. No matter... it's green and I loved it!

I also saw a tiny touch of red on the tips of a few flowering trees, just not enough to photograph.

Life is good, dance on!

Just for kicks... Dance On!!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=385309681567845

So hallowed and so gracious is the time...

No planets struck on 12-12-2012, but let us hope the other predictions of 12-12-12 opening the door to a thousand years of Peace does indeed come to pass.

The description Shakespeare used to describe what happens at the time of Christmas celebration causes me to hope the same "hallowed and gracious" time will apply for a thousand years.

The bird of dawning singeth all night long;

And then, they say, no spirit can walk abroad;

The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,

No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,

So hallowed and so gracious is the time.

Hamlet, 1.1.157

Wishing All my Readers a lovely holiday, whatever your religious beliefs...

A Duck, and my Birthday

A few things have been going on in my life lately, mostly piddly stuff, and although my posting is far behind, I'm finally regaining some energy after my long siege with a kidney infection and drug reactions during most of November.

I managed to stumble through making Thanksgiving dinner with a local pastured duck my sister bought. I'd never cooked a duck, and although what I roasted was merely passable due to my inexperience, I'm looking forward to doing a much better job the next time, maybe even this Christmas. I brined the duck (4.4 pounds) for about 6 hours in a citrus brine before roasting, and it was generally moist and tender. The orange sauce I made was terrific, but the pumpkin for a custard never made it out of the freezer.

I was disappointed that there wasn't much duck fat from the young duck, because I've wanted to make duck confit for ages. However, I was impressed enough overall with the duck that I'm considering the possibility of raising a few ducks instead of chickens if I can ever get a secure pen and housing built. The eggs are more nutritious, the meat is tasty... AND ducks don't tear up a garden by scratching up plant roots the way chickens do.

I had a birthday (#72!) early in November and a few gifts showed up, even some belated. One friend sent a Butter Bell. I had one years ago, but eventually broke it. I love having spreadable butter on hand!

Another friend sent a pair of porcelain egg coddlers. Have you ever had a coddled egg? Simply put, coddled eggs are eggs that are baked or steamed until the whites are just set and the yolks are gloriously runny. I really like soft boiled eggs, and egg coddlers take dealing with the messy shell out of the picture. My grandfather ate them all the time, but it seems to be one of those wonderful things that fell out of favor, and most younger folks today have no clue what they are.

On a sour note... I recently ordered a tin of Bremner Wafers, my all-time favorite cracker to serve with cheese for many, many years. They obviously have changed their formula, and now use canola oil. When I opened the can, the rancid oil smell was so strong I almost gagged. Not pleasant when you have friends over for a wine and cheese tasting.

Birthing New Traditions that Make Sense?

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories have been kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods -- merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor shipped overseas.

This year can be different if we so choose. This year we can give the gift of genuine concern for fellow Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by Americans' hands.

Because there is! Although largely service-oriented, some wonderful products are available too!

It's time to think outside the box. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper? Everyone -- yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?

Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages of people who are thinking about some health improvement.

Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plunking down big bucks on a Chinese made flat-screen TV? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or paid tee times at the local golf course.

There are a bazillion local owner-run restaurants -- and most offer gift certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint? Remember, this isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting your hometown fellow Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.

How many people wouldn't love an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for Mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves. Or they make jewelry, or pottery, and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theater (if there IS one)?

Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a $5 string of lights, only about fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy and babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, Christmas giving is no longer about draining American pockets so that China can build another glittering city.

Christmas giving is now about encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine.

Source: Okay, I admit I stole most of this from an anonymous email, but it rings true for me. Hopefully it will for you too.

Apocalypse? Change in Consciousness?

I confess to not liking TV in general, although I have enjoyed most of the shows on "Ancient Aliens" because they seem plausible to me.  For months now the same channel has carried segments about The End Times (Apocalypse) delivered by various prophecies from the Mayan Calendar and the Hopi Indians to Nostradamus. The chapters of Revelations from the King James Version of the Christian New Testament fits right in, with descriptions of gruesome stages to destruction.

I'm sure there are people who hold the subconscious fear that the prophecies may be right. There have been days when even I have thought it would be fitting and justified, in order to wipe out the greed/evil being carried out this lovely blue planet. But, would it, really? I worry that any survivors would still carry the concept of greed in their hearts.

Wikipedia has this to say: An apocalypse, translated literally from Greek, refers to a revelation of something hidden, although this sense did not enter the English language until the 14th century. In religious contexts it is usually a revelation of hidden meaning - hidden from human knowledge in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception. 

In the Revelation of John, the last book of the New Testament, the revelation which John receives is that of the ultimate victory of good over evil and the end of the present age. In chapter 20, John receives a vision of a thousand-year reign of the Christ/Messiah upon the earth. 

I interpret that reign as a Time of Peace and Love regardless on one's religious beliefs, and the end of an "age", not the end of the world. I also don't think it will be a pleasant passage, as greed/power doesn't give up easily.

Not everyone follows the Judea-Christian beliefs, but most of us in this country have grown up exposed to them, along with the many other religious faiths around the world that hold in common the belief in good vs. evil. 

However, I think in order to wipe out Evil, there will have to be a change in Consciousness rather than mass destruction with few survivors. The possibility that Monsanto, on Dec. 21, 2012, would awaken with a change of heart staggers my imagination.

The Toughest Battles...

My toughest food battles start here at home. I share a house (a quasi-duplex) with a half sister nearly 10 years my junior. We seldom share meals, other than an occasional holiday meal I prepare, and I know she heats and eats lots of junk food rather than cook for herself.

She and I had a long conversation about food last night, and I discovered she really IS a true product of American advertising. It's amazing what she believes to be healthy. She believes margarine is healthier than butter, and that GMO canola oil is better than any other oil. Nothing I said had any impact, even with connections to proven research.

I suspect she is typical of many Americans, and that's really sad. Deaf Ears.

If I cannot convince my own sister about nutritionally better foods, how could I possibly hope to influence anyone else to at least LOOK and consider the newer research... research that's peer-reviewed and NOT paid for by BigAg?

The funny thing is that my sis knows my background in engineering and then home-building, and she will take my advice on anything in that field without question.