I'll See Your Round-up And Raise You 2,4-D.

       Hey gang, I recently wrote an entry that suggested meat wasn't the best thing you could eat. Well there's an article in Mother Jones this morning about CMO seeds. It seems that the seeds engineered to withstand Round-up have, over time, infected weeds so that they too are resistant to the Round-up herbicide. So now Dow has come up with a seed that resists 2,4-D herbicide. 2,4-D is part of the Viet-Nam era defoliant used by our military known as Agent Orange.
       So now we have the prospect of training our weeds to resist Agent Orange style weed killer, but also, that stuff is inside the seeds and will be inside the harvested crops. Do you remember the kill off of our honeybees? It's still going on, ya know. How will this extra killer affect our bees? But also, how will this added 2,4-D affect us? Of course Dow Agriscience will tell you it's harmless to us because of the small doses we get. Humph, just because they find glowing in the dark acceptable doesn't mean I do. And what harm will that 2,4-D do in the environment over time?
       And there's the sticking point. No not the glowing part, but the fact that these chemicals do wind up inside us along with the additives in our meat and especially our poultry products. Remember the old adage that too much of a good thing is bad for you? Well it's true. Now if you calculate what little harm one single thing like this new defoliant will do to you then, yes it's true, not much harm can come from it. But when you begin to add up all the single little additives, you come up with a pretty big number. And it's the aggregate that may not be so good for you.
       Now I will admit that a lot of what's been done over the years and decades to improve our food chain has helped us to improve our lives and health and even longevity. On the other hand, some have been detrimental to both us and the environment we depend on. What these companies are unwilling to admit is that they don't know what harm they might be doing. All they want to know is that they aren't doing any harm in the near term and the profits they stand to make are astronomical.

The Unemployment Vortex is like a Polar Vortex.

       On a fashionably bitter cold day, how fashionable is it to be unemployed for more than 26 weeks? If you think a Polar Vortex is cold, consider an Unemployment Vortex during a Polar Vortex. In fact an Unemployment Vortex in any kind of weather can't be a whole lot of fun. It's just hard to enjoy such bitter cold outside when it's probably fairly cold inside. Ya know what makes the cold seem even colder? An empty stomach.
       Speaking of fashion, if you've been unemployed for any extended period, you're not likely in the mood to join into conversations about the latest vacation to the Caribbean or plans for jetting off to the Mediterranean. You're more likely to be interested in hearing about a job opening at the local D Q Dairy Queen, or the news that Burger King is offering Assistant manager training.
       By the way, do you know what the training for assistant manager for a fast food means? An entry level burger flipper pay for added responsibility with future prospects of someday becoming a manager at an older less profitable location with the warning to make it successful or you'll be replaced with another assistant manager trainee. And you should be grateful for the opportunity. And here's the worst part, you really are grateful for this poverty building job. That's because you can now join the Poverty Vortex. You'll be a full fledged member of the new Poverty Vortex, especially designed by Congress as a favor to you and your family. Hope they can count on your vote.
       Of course it could be worse, in fact it is worse for 1.3 million good citizens and their families. There will be a vote coming up in Congress in the not too distant future on this issue. Some will befriend the unemployed by voting to reinstate extended unemployment compensation, and some will befriend the unemployed by relieving them of the humility of choosing not to work because you got used to the free ride.
       And free ride it has been. What with taking home half of what you were making before you lost your job. Hmm, lost just isn't the right word. Likely you didn't "lose" your job, you know right where it went. But now that you aren't working for pay anymore you probably can't afford your mortgage, and all extras are ended, like going out on the town or the kids music lessons, but at least you were able to put food on the table. Used to be able.

History Suggests.

       Lets see how well you know your ancient history. In 2002 America went to war against a brutal dictator, Saddam Husain, of Iraq. The people would welcome American soldiers with open arms as their liberators and saviors. This war was to last for only a few weeks. Actually it turned out to be a mere single decade. American troops were welcomed with open arms and roadside bombs. And the  WMDs that Saddam was holding evaporated into thin air. Fortunately we had only several thousand killed and tens of thousands wounded.
       Now Saddam was a Sunni Muslim while most of the citizenry were Shiite Muslims. So as soon as Saddam's government was toppled all Sunnis were never again allowed to be a part of the new Iraq. Well like any normal person who found themselves on the outside and being persecuted, they decided to more or less go to war with the Shiites. If you remember that far back, you'll remember the claims that Al-Qaeda was operating in Iraq which was completely untrue. Saddam would never have permitted such a group into his dictatorship. Well now an Al-Qaeda linked group has spilled over into Iraq from Syria to help the Sunnis try to form a new country of their own by taking control of part of Iraq.
       So now some folks are demanding that we send troops back into Iraq. Actually, the President has no intention of putting any American boots on the ground, but will help with weapons and advise. Now why would anyone want us to go back in there? Haven't we spilled enough young American blood there? Does anyone actually think we'd be welcomed this time and become the saviors we thought we'd be last time?
       Iraq, like many other countries in the middle east was artificially constructed by England, France and America After the 1st and 2nd World Wars. No thought was given to the fact that the countries were made up of different tribes who hated each other. In Iraq, there are at least three tribes or religious divisions. Shiite, Sunni and the Kurds. The Kurds are also Muslim, but of a different tribe completely. Then within each are smaller tribal interests.
       These groups have never gotten along and likely never will. At least not to the point of being ruled by a single government. So should we go back into another war in Iraq? Are you mindful of our history there? Are you insane?

Tax Free Voting.

       There is no question that voting is a right for every American citizen. But where America is missing out on this right is not also admitting that voting is a responsibility. Now we could easily state that voting is a responsibility and leave it there, and nothing would change. In most elections we would continue to see fewer than 50% of eligible voters turn out to exercise their right and responsibility.
       Why this apathy, I'm not sure, but there is a way to encourage voters to take the time to do their duty. Simply place a tax on anyone who does not vote in any election. Let's say the tax for not voting was $50. Then if you vote, you take the stub from your paper ballet or a receipt from the election board handed out at the polls. You would simply attach those stubs or receipts to your tax return and receive a tax cut of the $100 for the primary and general election. To save $100, who wouldn't get out and vote? And for those who still fail to fulfill their responsibility and exercise their right to vote, well let em pay the $100. Must be they feel they can afford it.
       See the reason for this tax is that if only about 50% or less of the population actually vote, then the representation we get is elected by about 25% of the eligible voters. So if only a quarter of the folks vote for a person and he or she wins, that means that we are led by a vast minority. Is that the best leadership we can achieve? Shouldn't we expect more? Shouldn't an elected official be able to say the majority of the residents in my district or state or the country agree with my position? The best they can say now is that at least a quarter of my constituents agree with me.
       There is another aspect to this kind of law. That is at least some increased income for our government to do its job. And finally, there would be a substantial argument to discontinue any activity that might limit people's right to vote. Rules like rigid voter ID laws would be forced to cease to be erected, since to do so would illegally require those folks to pay a tax they would otherwise be exempted from should they vote.

An Assessment Of The War On Poverty.

       According to the Huffington Post today, LBJ's War On Poverty started fifty years ago this month. So how are we doing? Well inequality is through the roof and starting this week 1.3 million unemployed will be cut from their unemployment income and food stamps will be cut back as well. 57,000 children have been dropped from the Head Start Program and the minimum wage has been kept at 1980s rates insuring that even if one of those unemployed can get a job flipping burgers, he or she won't be able to feed their families. Whereas the wealthiest 1% have doubled their share of the take.
       I think I agree with the Huffington Post in saying America has become much more stingy toward the poor. It seems to me to be the perfect plan to eliminate poverty in America within ten years. The reason I believe this is possible is because by then the last poor person will have self deported to China to look for a job. And to be sure nobody else tries to become poor, we've made it almost impossibly expensive to attend college, although I'm not sure how that will ensure no more poverty. It will however eliminate most of the competition for the really good jobs, reserving those jobs for the sons and daughters of the 1%.
       One thing's for certain in this life; either you make it to comfortable wealth or you're gonna starve because there ain't gonna be any middle ground. Now lest you think I'm blowing this all out of proportion, let me introduce you to Joe Nopack. I say Nopack because he can no longer afford the six needed to make a six pack. The reason he can't is because the only jobs he's ever been trained for have all been shipped to China, so he's been out of work for 36 weeks. He can't afford to go back to school to learn a new trade because of the costs, and fast food wages won't feed his family. For that he depended on food stamps, but now those too have been cut back so that he'll only be able to feed his two kids every other day.
       His youngest was attending preschool at the local Head Start, but he was one of the ones cut, so now he sits around all day watching cartoons and dreaming of the day when he too can earn too little to survive and continue to vote for the folks who have counted him out.

NPR Explained Phosphorous To Me.

       This morning as I listened to the news on NPR, I heard a segment that interested me a little more than usual. It was about phosphorous in our waterways like the Chesapeake Bay. The thing is the amounts of it in such places is much higher than it was fifty years ago, by a bunch.
       What the reporter talked about was agriculture and how it's changed and how those changes are causing all the phosphorous in the water. See, years ago farmers raised grain and animals like cows, pigs and chickens. The waste from the animals was spread on the grain fields as natural fertilizer. The grain fed the animals, the animals fed the grain, so to speak.
       But that all changed when the interstate highway system made it easy for feed with phosphorous in it for the animals and as fertilizer for the fields to be manufactured and shipped to the farm. All this made it possible for the factory farms. Now animals are raised by the millions like mass production on the assembly line. But it's too expensive to ship the animal waste to the giant grain farms. Guess what happens to the unneeded waste? It's dumped on lands that already have all the phosphorous it needs or can store. Guess what happens? It runs off into streams and rivers and lakes and Bays.
       Phosphorous is like most things, a little bit goes a long ways. Everything that grows needs some of it, but too much causes a lot of damage. It's like a burger and fries, supersized. One tastes great, but one or two every day and soon you begin to look like one and your arteries are clogged like the Chesapeake. That's the main reason why the Chesapeake Bay is suffering from large dead zones and algae blooms. Oh, by the way, you can't use an algae bloom in a floral bouquet. And we're a long way from converting it to oil. So until we can find a good use for it, we need to figure out how to stop putting it in our waters.

The Deficit And The Workers.

       Ahh, it's a new year. Happy New Year. Here's a thought, let's resolve to accept actual facts that are proven beyond any doubt. No I don't mean global warming or even evolution. They're theories and I'm talking about the real verifiable facts. So if you're one of those folks who think Adam and Eve kept a herd of dairy dinosaurs or that we're just experiencing natural heating and cooling, so be it. But what about something that is actual, visible, true, verifiable, proven and cross my heart hope to die, the real thing?
       Well then, the U.S. deficit is shrinking, both in dollar amount, from over $1 trillion to $680 billion, and counting, a total decrease of $409 billion. As a percentage of the GDP , it's less than half, down from 9.2% of GDP in 2009 to 4.1% now. These numbers aren't theories, they're actual facts. Now, I'm not going to argue whether having a deficit is a good thing or bad thing, but during a period of high unemployment having a quickly shrinking deficit is definitely not a good thing.
       Why do I bring this up? Because a lot of folks are laboring under the misconception that the deficit is growing not shrinking. When you come to an incorrect conclusion, you're likely to make some costly mistakes. So our country would be far better served if everyone, and especially all those in Washington, were on the same page, and preferably the right page. Don't you agree?
       And I'm not even going to argue who should get the credit for this shrinking of the deficit. It's a good thing, let's just accept that and move on. I do think that everybody agrees that high unemployment is not good for the country and concentrate on fixing that. The only folks who might be happy with high unemployment would be a selfish corporate executive who likes the fact that too many people out of work drives down wages for workers.
       So what if we started doing things that would encourage job growth. Now we could give business and industry more tax cuts, but that won't stop them from sending more jobs overseas or using more robotics to replace workers. But how about an excessive profits tax? How about spending some money on roads and infrastructure improvements? Corporate interests have been well groomed, it's time to groom workers.