I really detest how Washington does "business" these days. From the 2100 page ObamaCare bill-with Speaker Nancy Pilosi's "We have to pass it know what's in it" sentiment, to tucking all sorts of stuff into other, necessary bills-such as funding requests.
So, SB 510 has been tucked into another bill-read the details here:
http://www.ftcldf.org/petitions/pnum1061.php
On the right side of the page is a form to fill out-simply fill it out and press submit, and the organization will send an email on your behalf, opposing the measure.
Please, please, take a minute to trounce this bill!!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
The American Codex, part two
To recap where I've been the last few posts-
SB 510 (even with the much ballyhooed Tester Amendment) will firmly place American agriculture under the jackboots of the Department of Homeland Security, the Food and Drug Administration, not to mention the monumental juggernaut of the US Dept of Agriculture.
No where does it address the failings of the safeguards currently on the books, by the way. It does not fund more inspectors, training for those inspectors, or even increase the frequency of them. The food processing industry as a whole, is pretty much free to police themselves, within the vast sea of regulations and permitting processes which manages to make about one visit every five years. Note that I stated "food processing", not food production.
Per the directives of the Codex Alimentarius (originating from the UN, and which the United States has adopted), all foods grown in the US will eventually be held to the same standard as the "global community". In theory, this is supposed to help with trade-but, many US products are not allowed into Europe or even China as it is now. The reasons are complex but include the current modern methods of intense agricultural production. Herbicides, pesticides, GMO plants, RoundUp Ready seed, etc, are part of what makes the US one of the "bread baskets" of the entire world.
But SB 510 is not just about trade. It is actually about control of the nation's food supply, disguised as "protecting" it.
The mandates it contains are frightening to anyone who thinking about getting into agriculture, even in a small way. Even my tiny business, which I had hoped to expand, would not be exempt. Never mind the $500,000 in gross sales and 275 mile geographical limits contained within the Tester Amendment. Nope, I get to jump through an incredible variety of regulations. Not only that, the USDA and FDA are handed unlimited powers to create any regulations they chose. They have a year to craft these, then impose them on America's family farms, from tiny niche organic producers to mega farms growing mono cultures. One language change within the bill, gives the Department of Homeland Security (Yes, DHS) the power to confiscate your LAND if they have "reason to believe" an outbreak of some sort has occurred, or that a threat to a food supply exists.
Not proof, mind you, but just a suspicion. Anyone who grows anything that ends up in the commercial food chain is subject to this. That includes U picks, and road stands if you didn't know. So, Pyrah's in the Butte falls under their control. So does Palmer Produce, and many other local farms, both large and small. And, even if they don't realize it yet, nearly every single forage producer is included also. Why? Because their forages do generally end up in our food supply. Hay and grain is grown which is fed to beef cattle which are then butchered which is then sold to the public, that's how.
The devil is in the details in that bill, and you cannot find this information easily. As soon as I relocated the correct link with all annotated pages, I will add it to this entry.
The promised link:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s111-510
SB 510 (even with the much ballyhooed Tester Amendment) will firmly place American agriculture under the jackboots of the Department of Homeland Security, the Food and Drug Administration, not to mention the monumental juggernaut of the US Dept of Agriculture.
No where does it address the failings of the safeguards currently on the books, by the way. It does not fund more inspectors, training for those inspectors, or even increase the frequency of them. The food processing industry as a whole, is pretty much free to police themselves, within the vast sea of regulations and permitting processes which manages to make about one visit every five years. Note that I stated "food processing", not food production.
Per the directives of the Codex Alimentarius (originating from the UN, and which the United States has adopted), all foods grown in the US will eventually be held to the same standard as the "global community". In theory, this is supposed to help with trade-but, many US products are not allowed into Europe or even China as it is now. The reasons are complex but include the current modern methods of intense agricultural production. Herbicides, pesticides, GMO plants, RoundUp Ready seed, etc, are part of what makes the US one of the "bread baskets" of the entire world.
But SB 510 is not just about trade. It is actually about control of the nation's food supply, disguised as "protecting" it.
The mandates it contains are frightening to anyone who thinking about getting into agriculture, even in a small way. Even my tiny business, which I had hoped to expand, would not be exempt. Never mind the $500,000 in gross sales and 275 mile geographical limits contained within the Tester Amendment. Nope, I get to jump through an incredible variety of regulations. Not only that, the USDA and FDA are handed unlimited powers to create any regulations they chose. They have a year to craft these, then impose them on America's family farms, from tiny niche organic producers to mega farms growing mono cultures. One language change within the bill, gives the Department of Homeland Security (Yes, DHS) the power to confiscate your LAND if they have "reason to believe" an outbreak of some sort has occurred, or that a threat to a food supply exists.
Not proof, mind you, but just a suspicion. Anyone who grows anything that ends up in the commercial food chain is subject to this. That includes U picks, and road stands if you didn't know. So, Pyrah's in the Butte falls under their control. So does Palmer Produce, and many other local farms, both large and small. And, even if they don't realize it yet, nearly every single forage producer is included also. Why? Because their forages do generally end up in our food supply. Hay and grain is grown which is fed to beef cattle which are then butchered which is then sold to the public, that's how.
The devil is in the details in that bill, and you cannot find this information easily. As soon as I relocated the correct link with all annotated pages, I will add it to this entry.
The promised link:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s111-510
Friday, December 3, 2010
The American Codex, part one.....
As I said yesterday, here are some items which pertain to "The American Codex" and what it means for you-and me.
First, it helps to understand the meaning of the word "Codex". When you look up the definitions, you will see that most dictionaries will read something like this:
1. A manuscript volume of classic work or of the scriptures
2. Archaic. A code, a book of statutes.
Codex Alimentarius (Latin-meaning Food Law or Code) has come to mean something altogether different than one might suppose. I urge you to read this article from 2000:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/irrad/codexfaq.cfm This is short overview of the Codex and what it meant back in 2000.
Fast forward to 2010, and these links describe the Codex Alimentarius much more accurately:
http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/?page_id=155
http://www.natural-health-information-centre.com/codex-alimentarius.html
Here is what the USDA has on their website about Codex Alimentarius:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/codex_alimentarius/index.asp
President Obama was rumored to have signed an executive order which basically agrees to global governance of our nation's food supply-from seeds, to the finished product in the store or on your table. While this is not exactly the case, we are handing off our food chain to multinational corporations and Agribiz, which will be enforced not just by the USDA, but the FDA and DHS. Yes, you read correctly-the Division of Homeland Security.
The American Codex, part two coming.......
First, it helps to understand the meaning of the word "Codex". When you look up the definitions, you will see that most dictionaries will read something like this:
1. A manuscript volume of classic work or of the scriptures
2. Archaic. A code, a book of statutes.
Codex Alimentarius (Latin-meaning Food Law or Code) has come to mean something altogether different than one might suppose. I urge you to read this article from 2000:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/irrad/codexfaq.cfm This is short overview of the Codex and what it meant back in 2000.
Fast forward to 2010, and these links describe the Codex Alimentarius much more accurately:
http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/?page_id=155
http://www.natural-health-information-centre.com/codex-alimentarius.html
Here is what the USDA has on their website about Codex Alimentarius:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/codex_alimentarius/index.asp
President Obama was rumored to have signed an executive order which basically agrees to global governance of our nation's food supply-from seeds, to the finished product in the store or on your table. While this is not exactly the case, we are handing off our food chain to multinational corporations and Agribiz, which will be enforced not just by the USDA, but the FDA and DHS. Yes, you read correctly-the Division of Homeland Security.
The American Codex, part two coming.......
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
The American Codex is nearly here
(Hat tip to a good online friend who coined the phrase-thanks, OG!)
For this entry, something that is likely completely off your radar-although it should be dead center. But of course it is not, and unless and until the information is made public by the main stream media, you won't hear a peep about this.
Codex Alimentarius. My what a big, weird word to use, isn't it? Here is the Wiki entry on the phrase:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Alimentarius
Back the American version later on, here is my road to discovery if you care to read:
The US adoption of UN Agenda 21, and Codex, didn't seem like such a big deal at the time. In fact, I had not heard anything about either of those two things, until a good friend (and you know who you are) told me about them in relation to NAIS. Truthfully, I thought my friend was off her rocker, a crackpot, a paranoid extremist who was overly fearful of things that didn't matter to the average US citizen. She urged me to Google and read up on UN Agenda 21, NAIS, and CODEX on my own-and I am thankful that I did. When I realized the scope of NAIS (National Animal Identification System, as proposed by the USDA) I too, become upset and angry over what was an obvious move to inventory and track every single animal in the US. By chipping the animals, registering your property, and complying with the regulations, you ran a very real risk of subjecting your animals to the draconian actions of bureaucrats. Among many other things, the fines for noncompliance were astronomical and could have meant seizure of your records (including computors) and animals in your care. Luckily, this was eventually gutted due to strong opposition from the American cattle industry and a great many small farmers who would have been put out of business by the costs associated with the boondoggle.
When NAIS died, I thought-whew, close one! But my friend assured me that more trouble was coming...and boy was she right.
Presenting: SB 510. It has passed the Senate and now goes to the House to merge with their version, which is HB 2947. Once the differences are worked out it will then be presented to President Obama to sign into law. It is also known as the Food Safety Modernization Act.
Here is a link to the bill itself: http://thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.510:
And here is the text of the bill as it passed out of the Senate, it is a .pdf:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s510es.txt.pdf It does not, however, contain all the language of that particular bill, I am pretty sure you have to get that direct from committee. Or maybe it is available through your Senator or Representative-it's worth finding a complete copy.
While it is true that we in the US have had some serious illnesses that have made the news recently-it is also true that food borne illnesses have been on the decline for decades. Yes, we should have more inspections of processing facilities (that is a no brainer, right?) and on foods entering into the US from other countries. I think we can all agree that those are good goals.
So, thinking about the above, you should be quite surprised to find this little bit of text tucked within this bill:
".....AND IF ANY VIOLATION OF ANY PART OF THE S-510 IS FOUND OR IF THE EXEMPTED PRODUCER FAILS TO PRODUCE REQUIRED HACCP REORDS, THEY FACE FORFEITURE AND SEIZURE OF ANY AND ALL PRODUCTS AND EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LAND USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF SAID GOODS......"
Re-read carefully......any violation of ANY part of this bill, subjects you to seizure of your products and equipment as well as the land.
And just what does the FDA think about food supply? Well here is another shocker for you-a quote:
S510 would give FDA significantly more power to regulate food, particularly food in intrastate commerce. For those who think it’s a good idea to give FDA more power, here are the agency’s views on your freedom to obtain the foods of your choice; these are direct quotations from the agency’s response to a lawsuit the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund filed earlier this year challenging the interstate ban on raw milk for human consumption:
* "There is no absolute right to consume or feed children any particular food." [A--p. 25]
* "There is no 'deeply rooted' historical tradition of unfettered access to foods of all kinds." [A--p. 26]
* "Plaintiffs' assertion of a 'fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health, which includes what foods they do and do not choose to consume for themselves and their families' is similarly unavailing because plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish." [A--p. 26]
* "There is no fundamental right to freedom of contract." [A--p. 27]
Read that one again too, the FDA is saying you have no right to food. Honest, it is. Give it another read and then you will agree, yep, that is what they are on the record as stating. In a court of law, mind you!
There's more trouble with this bill too. And you thought surely this was bad enough, right? Wrong! It's worse than you supposed when you started reading this.
Here's a few points to consider:
The FDA will have great power over the food production of the US. That includes partnering with DHS over any illness outbreak.
This bill gives the FDA to create any regulation it choses and to implement those regulations without oversight, review, or due process. These bureaucrats (not elected officials who can, in theory, be held accountable) can devise any set of regulations for anything, anything at all. Think that one through-what if the DMV was given the power to arbitrarily say: We will not accept red vehicles any longer and anyone who drives a Honda Civic over X miles a month will have their land confiscated. Sounds pretty crazy, doesn't it? But the power that is given to this agency is immense in this bill....and no one seems to think it's risky? At least, not the 70 some Senators who voted in favor of this monstrosity thought it was a fine and dandy idea. That includes our two Senators from Alaska, btw.
Want to know what it cost to get their approval? (Gosh I just love the internet sometimes, haha)
First, the list of Senators who accepted money from those lobbying in favor of the bill (and the amount is about $50 million, btw)
http://www.naturalnews.com/030577_Senate_Bill_510_voting_record.html
And here are the break downs by vote:
http://maplight.org/us-congress/bill/111-s-510/880093/contributions-by-vote
Our two Senators were pretty cheap, weren't they? Begich: $22,300.00 Murkowski: $139,463 It says Murkowski did not vote, but I have read other lists that show that she did, in fact, vote for this. I am not sure what the real story is here, it may have to do with her re-election still not being settled as yet.
Now, defenders will point to the Tester Amendment as the solution to small producers. That amendment says that those folks who make less than $500,000 in sales, and who restrict thier sales to within 275 geographic miles are exempt from this bill. That is not quite true-you just have to read the language to understand that no one is exempt for the time being...here is another snippet:
ii) LIMITATION.— The exemptions or modifications under clause (i) shall not include an exemption from the requirement to register under section 415 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 350d), as amended by this Act, if applicable, and shall apply only to small businesses and very small businesses, as defined in the regulation promulgated under section 418(n) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (as added under 14 subsection (a)).
So, effectively, FDA registration is required for all, regardless of size. Perhaps deemed a minor point, but language is language, and is easy enough to copy and paste, properly.
Now, in my impression, here is the DOUBLE WHAMMY ... in the Amendment, the new "exemptions' DO NOT APPEAR TO TAKE PLACE IMMEDIATELY!:
EFFECTIVE DATES.—
(1) GENERAL RULE.—
The amendments made by this section shall take effect 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act.
2) FLEXIBILITY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.—
Notwithstanding paragraph (1)—
(A) the amendments made by this section shall apply to a small business (as defined in the regulations promulgated under section 418(n) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (as added by this section)) beginning on the date that is 6 months after the effective date of such regulations;
and
(B) the amendments made by this section shall apply to a very small business (as defined in such regulations) beginning on the date that is 18 months after the effective date of such regulations.
Now, if I interpret that language correctly, ALL food suppliers / growers / marketers are subject to the "law" for at least 6 - 18 months ... and thus, well, screwed!!
More to come-and while you wait for that, have a read here:
http://www.naturalnews.com/030587_Senate_Bill_510_Food_Safety.html
For this entry, something that is likely completely off your radar-although it should be dead center. But of course it is not, and unless and until the information is made public by the main stream media, you won't hear a peep about this.
Codex Alimentarius. My what a big, weird word to use, isn't it? Here is the Wiki entry on the phrase:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Alimentarius
Back the American version later on, here is my road to discovery if you care to read:
The US adoption of UN Agenda 21, and Codex, didn't seem like such a big deal at the time. In fact, I had not heard anything about either of those two things, until a good friend (and you know who you are) told me about them in relation to NAIS. Truthfully, I thought my friend was off her rocker, a crackpot, a paranoid extremist who was overly fearful of things that didn't matter to the average US citizen. She urged me to Google and read up on UN Agenda 21, NAIS, and CODEX on my own-and I am thankful that I did. When I realized the scope of NAIS (National Animal Identification System, as proposed by the USDA) I too, become upset and angry over what was an obvious move to inventory and track every single animal in the US. By chipping the animals, registering your property, and complying with the regulations, you ran a very real risk of subjecting your animals to the draconian actions of bureaucrats. Among many other things, the fines for noncompliance were astronomical and could have meant seizure of your records (including computors) and animals in your care. Luckily, this was eventually gutted due to strong opposition from the American cattle industry and a great many small farmers who would have been put out of business by the costs associated with the boondoggle.
When NAIS died, I thought-whew, close one! But my friend assured me that more trouble was coming...and boy was she right.
Presenting: SB 510. It has passed the Senate and now goes to the House to merge with their version, which is HB 2947. Once the differences are worked out it will then be presented to President Obama to sign into law. It is also known as the Food Safety Modernization Act.
Here is a link to the bill itself: http://thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.510:
And here is the text of the bill as it passed out of the Senate, it is a .pdf:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s510es.txt.pdf It does not, however, contain all the language of that particular bill, I am pretty sure you have to get that direct from committee. Or maybe it is available through your Senator or Representative-it's worth finding a complete copy.
While it is true that we in the US have had some serious illnesses that have made the news recently-it is also true that food borne illnesses have been on the decline for decades. Yes, we should have more inspections of processing facilities (that is a no brainer, right?) and on foods entering into the US from other countries. I think we can all agree that those are good goals.
So, thinking about the above, you should be quite surprised to find this little bit of text tucked within this bill:
".....AND IF ANY VIOLATION OF ANY PART OF THE S-510 IS FOUND OR IF THE EXEMPTED PRODUCER FAILS TO PRODUCE REQUIRED HACCP REORDS, THEY FACE FORFEITURE AND SEIZURE OF ANY AND ALL PRODUCTS AND EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LAND USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF SAID GOODS......"
Re-read carefully......any violation of ANY part of this bill, subjects you to seizure of your products and equipment as well as the land.
And just what does the FDA think about food supply? Well here is another shocker for you-a quote:
S510 would give FDA significantly more power to regulate food, particularly food in intrastate commerce. For those who think it’s a good idea to give FDA more power, here are the agency’s views on your freedom to obtain the foods of your choice; these are direct quotations from the agency’s response to a lawsuit the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund filed earlier this year challenging the interstate ban on raw milk for human consumption:
* "There is no absolute right to consume or feed children any particular food." [A--p. 25]
* "There is no 'deeply rooted' historical tradition of unfettered access to foods of all kinds." [A--p. 26]
* "Plaintiffs' assertion of a 'fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health, which includes what foods they do and do not choose to consume for themselves and their families' is similarly unavailing because plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish." [A--p. 26]
* "There is no fundamental right to freedom of contract." [A--p. 27]
Read that one again too, the FDA is saying you have no right to food. Honest, it is. Give it another read and then you will agree, yep, that is what they are on the record as stating. In a court of law, mind you!
There's more trouble with this bill too. And you thought surely this was bad enough, right? Wrong! It's worse than you supposed when you started reading this.
Here's a few points to consider:
The FDA will have great power over the food production of the US. That includes partnering with DHS over any illness outbreak.
This bill gives the FDA to create any regulation it choses and to implement those regulations without oversight, review, or due process. These bureaucrats (not elected officials who can, in theory, be held accountable) can devise any set of regulations for anything, anything at all. Think that one through-what if the DMV was given the power to arbitrarily say: We will not accept red vehicles any longer and anyone who drives a Honda Civic over X miles a month will have their land confiscated. Sounds pretty crazy, doesn't it? But the power that is given to this agency is immense in this bill....and no one seems to think it's risky? At least, not the 70 some Senators who voted in favor of this monstrosity thought it was a fine and dandy idea. That includes our two Senators from Alaska, btw.
Want to know what it cost to get their approval? (Gosh I just love the internet sometimes, haha)
First, the list of Senators who accepted money from those lobbying in favor of the bill (and the amount is about $50 million, btw)
http://www.naturalnews.com/030577_Senate_Bill_510_voting_record.html
And here are the break downs by vote:
http://maplight.org/us-congress/bill/111-s-510/880093/contributions-by-vote
Our two Senators were pretty cheap, weren't they? Begich: $22,300.00 Murkowski: $139,463 It says Murkowski did not vote, but I have read other lists that show that she did, in fact, vote for this. I am not sure what the real story is here, it may have to do with her re-election still not being settled as yet.
Now, defenders will point to the Tester Amendment as the solution to small producers. That amendment says that those folks who make less than $500,000 in sales, and who restrict thier sales to within 275 geographic miles are exempt from this bill. That is not quite true-you just have to read the language to understand that no one is exempt for the time being...here is another snippet:
ii) LIMITATION.— The exemptions or modifications under clause (i) shall not include an exemption from the requirement to register under section 415 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 350d), as amended by this Act, if applicable, and shall apply only to small businesses and very small businesses, as defined in the regulation promulgated under section 418(n) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (as added under 14 subsection (a)).
So, effectively, FDA registration is required for all, regardless of size. Perhaps deemed a minor point, but language is language, and is easy enough to copy and paste, properly.
Now, in my impression, here is the DOUBLE WHAMMY ... in the Amendment, the new "exemptions' DO NOT APPEAR TO TAKE PLACE IMMEDIATELY!:
EFFECTIVE DATES.—
(1) GENERAL RULE.—
The amendments made by this section shall take effect 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act.
2) FLEXIBILITY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.—
Notwithstanding paragraph (1)—
(A) the amendments made by this section shall apply to a small business (as defined in the regulations promulgated under section 418(n) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (as added by this section)) beginning on the date that is 6 months after the effective date of such regulations;
and
(B) the amendments made by this section shall apply to a very small business (as defined in such regulations) beginning on the date that is 18 months after the effective date of such regulations.
Now, if I interpret that language correctly, ALL food suppliers / growers / marketers are subject to the "law" for at least 6 - 18 months ... and thus, well, screwed!!
More to come-and while you wait for that, have a read here:
http://www.naturalnews.com/030587_Senate_Bill_510_Food_Safety.html
Monday, November 1, 2010
Alaska politics-as low down and dirty
as you might expect to find in Illinois, Louisiana, and Washington, DC itself.
I swear, it's enough to give anyone heartburn.....especially every one who is planning on voting!
First, Lisa Murkowski. Lisa refused all but one very short debate during her whole campaign in the primary. She spent a lot of time seemingly raising money, but not much responding to questions about her voting record. I know, I emailed about that record and did not get a response. In fact, whenever I have contact Senator Lisa Murkowski about anything, nothing meaningful ever resulted. The best I got was a "cut and paste" by some aide, which quoted the administration selling points. Period. I was feeling pretty much ignored as a constituent going into the race to begin with, and her behavior during the primary didn't help me get all "warm and fuzzy" either.
Then, Joe Miller. I had never heard of Joe Miller before, but I did manage to catch him on a local radio show one afternoon-and I thought-wow, this guy gets it! Smaller government, states' rights and responsibilities, rein in out of control spending, and so forth. The message resonated deeply with me, because I had come to the realization that the standard of living I have managed to provide my son, will never be enjoyed by his children or grandchildren. No matter what the pundits say, we are in a depression-it is just the printing of fiat that is slowing the slide. Once inflation takes hold, you'll all see what I mean.
Joe Miller beat out Lisa Murkowski, becoming the Republican nominee for the general election tomorrow. Lisa promptly went back on her promise to support the nominee (so disconnected from her constituency that she evidently decided she didn't need to work hard for the nomination) and announced a write in campaign.
Right about that time, the gloves came off. And boy has it been a bare knuckle slug fest since!
Neither of these candidates is without warts. Joe Miller has lied about fiddling with computers at work, and then got caught at it. People beat him up over farm subsidies he got on farmland in Kansas-foolish, since much farm property gets the same. I also heard >insert appropriate breathless outrage here< that his wife actually got unemployment! Oh noes! She worked, she got laid off, she collected unemployment bennies! Stop the presses! Oh my gawd, I was laughing, but feeling a little riled up over it. The whole mess came to light after the Murkowski campaign filed suit to open the Fairbanks North Star Borough personnel records belonging to Joe Miller. Interesting side note: The *retired* judge who said it was okay, was appointed by Lisa's father-former Governor Frank "The Bank" Murkowski. So this lingering question has not been addressed by anyone: Does a judge retain judicial powers after retiring? And if so, can anyone bring a matter to any retired judge on a weekend?
So things really heated up here the last week or so. Lisa is not answering questions at all....the standard MO she exhibited throughout the primary. She is now trying to snag the Democratic vote, and peel off as many Miller supporters as she can, however she can. Security hired by Joe Miller handcuffed someone who turned out to be a "member of the press" and that caused a huge uproar too. Both sides have been trading barbs back and forth and things are complicated with various groups buying air time. I am personally annoyed with the tone of a group calling itself "Alaskans Standing Together". Composed of primarily native corporations, this group has aired some very inflammatory ads against Joe Miller. These are now being met head on by ads from the TEA Party Express and the Republican committee.
Last Thursday, Alaska's number one talk radio host evidently ran afoul of "The powers that be" when he urged listeners to register as write in candidates in the senate race. A passionate conservative, Dan Fagan is wholeheartedly behind Joe Miller and makes no apologies for it. It was a moment of civil disobedience to some degree, with many people signing up in protest over an action taken by the Department of Elections and the Alaska Supreme Court's ruling on that matter. That they acted in direct conflict with the law, seems to have escaped them-but not, of course, the political powerhouse that is the Murkowski campaign.
Mr Fagan was punished (and his audience and advertisers, of course) when he was not allowed to host a Friday show. Speculation ran crazy, but it came to light the decision was reached when John Tracey, with Bradly Reed Communications, complained to the Morris Communications station managed that Dan Fagan was "electioneering". In short, Mr Tracey threatened the station. Mr Tracey represents a whole lot of advertising revenue for 750KFQD.....and Bradly Reed's highest profile client?
Why, it's Lisa Murkowski, of course.
Then the brown sticky stuff hit the oscillating object yet again, when an accidental call was made to a Joe Miller staffer. The recording seemed to prove that a CBS affiliate's reporters were looking for dirt on Joe Miller. It made the national press of course....and so it goes.
Now here we are, one day away from the election, and at least a few polls are showing that Miller has a substantial lead over Murkowski.
And what can a person take away from all this? That no candidate is squeaky clean. They all have their warts (including Democratic candidate Scott McAdams who has been basically ignored in his run for a senate seat by the press) and that none of them has a lock on the election.
But mostly I learned that the media here in Alaska, is no better than media any other place in the US these days-biased and with an agenda. I mean, I knew that the Anchorage Daily News is about as left leaning as they can get-they even scrub comments on their website-that's how little they have to do these days. The Alaska Dispatch isn't much better-most of their coverage consists of negative pieces about Joe Miller.
In the end, what has surprised me the most, was learning just how much juice Mr Tracey has to influence our state. He has stifled the most popular radio talk show host in the state with one phone call.......
What else has he done, or could he do, should he chose?
I swear, it's enough to give anyone heartburn.....especially every one who is planning on voting!
First, Lisa Murkowski. Lisa refused all but one very short debate during her whole campaign in the primary. She spent a lot of time seemingly raising money, but not much responding to questions about her voting record. I know, I emailed about that record and did not get a response. In fact, whenever I have contact Senator Lisa Murkowski about anything, nothing meaningful ever resulted. The best I got was a "cut and paste" by some aide, which quoted the administration selling points. Period. I was feeling pretty much ignored as a constituent going into the race to begin with, and her behavior during the primary didn't help me get all "warm and fuzzy" either.
Then, Joe Miller. I had never heard of Joe Miller before, but I did manage to catch him on a local radio show one afternoon-and I thought-wow, this guy gets it! Smaller government, states' rights and responsibilities, rein in out of control spending, and so forth. The message resonated deeply with me, because I had come to the realization that the standard of living I have managed to provide my son, will never be enjoyed by his children or grandchildren. No matter what the pundits say, we are in a depression-it is just the printing of fiat that is slowing the slide. Once inflation takes hold, you'll all see what I mean.
Joe Miller beat out Lisa Murkowski, becoming the Republican nominee for the general election tomorrow. Lisa promptly went back on her promise to support the nominee (so disconnected from her constituency that she evidently decided she didn't need to work hard for the nomination) and announced a write in campaign.
Right about that time, the gloves came off. And boy has it been a bare knuckle slug fest since!
Neither of these candidates is without warts. Joe Miller has lied about fiddling with computers at work, and then got caught at it. People beat him up over farm subsidies he got on farmland in Kansas-foolish, since much farm property gets the same. I also heard >insert appropriate breathless outrage here< that his wife actually got unemployment! Oh noes! She worked, she got laid off, she collected unemployment bennies! Stop the presses! Oh my gawd, I was laughing, but feeling a little riled up over it. The whole mess came to light after the Murkowski campaign filed suit to open the Fairbanks North Star Borough personnel records belonging to Joe Miller. Interesting side note: The *retired* judge who said it was okay, was appointed by Lisa's father-former Governor Frank "The Bank" Murkowski. So this lingering question has not been addressed by anyone: Does a judge retain judicial powers after retiring? And if so, can anyone bring a matter to any retired judge on a weekend?
So things really heated up here the last week or so. Lisa is not answering questions at all....the standard MO she exhibited throughout the primary. She is now trying to snag the Democratic vote, and peel off as many Miller supporters as she can, however she can. Security hired by Joe Miller handcuffed someone who turned out to be a "member of the press" and that caused a huge uproar too. Both sides have been trading barbs back and forth and things are complicated with various groups buying air time. I am personally annoyed with the tone of a group calling itself "Alaskans Standing Together". Composed of primarily native corporations, this group has aired some very inflammatory ads against Joe Miller. These are now being met head on by ads from the TEA Party Express and the Republican committee.
Last Thursday, Alaska's number one talk radio host evidently ran afoul of "The powers that be" when he urged listeners to register as write in candidates in the senate race. A passionate conservative, Dan Fagan is wholeheartedly behind Joe Miller and makes no apologies for it. It was a moment of civil disobedience to some degree, with many people signing up in protest over an action taken by the Department of Elections and the Alaska Supreme Court's ruling on that matter. That they acted in direct conflict with the law, seems to have escaped them-but not, of course, the political powerhouse that is the Murkowski campaign.
Mr Fagan was punished (and his audience and advertisers, of course) when he was not allowed to host a Friday show. Speculation ran crazy, but it came to light the decision was reached when John Tracey, with Bradly Reed Communications, complained to the Morris Communications station managed that Dan Fagan was "electioneering". In short, Mr Tracey threatened the station. Mr Tracey represents a whole lot of advertising revenue for 750KFQD.....and Bradly Reed's highest profile client?
Why, it's Lisa Murkowski, of course.
Then the brown sticky stuff hit the oscillating object yet again, when an accidental call was made to a Joe Miller staffer. The recording seemed to prove that a CBS affiliate's reporters were looking for dirt on Joe Miller. It made the national press of course....and so it goes.
Now here we are, one day away from the election, and at least a few polls are showing that Miller has a substantial lead over Murkowski.
And what can a person take away from all this? That no candidate is squeaky clean. They all have their warts (including Democratic candidate Scott McAdams who has been basically ignored in his run for a senate seat by the press) and that none of them has a lock on the election.
But mostly I learned that the media here in Alaska, is no better than media any other place in the US these days-biased and with an agenda. I mean, I knew that the Anchorage Daily News is about as left leaning as they can get-they even scrub comments on their website-that's how little they have to do these days. The Alaska Dispatch isn't much better-most of their coverage consists of negative pieces about Joe Miller.
In the end, what has surprised me the most, was learning just how much juice Mr Tracey has to influence our state. He has stifled the most popular radio talk show host in the state with one phone call.......
What else has he done, or could he do, should he chose?
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Today, no politics!
(Even if our local races are reaching critical mass, lol)
Instead, a summary of the home front:
First, the firewood chore is basically done. All that is left is burning off the raked up branches, leaves, and bark bits left from all the splitting. Yay! Everything is neatly stacked under the woodshed, and it's a weight off the mind knowing it's there and ready. I fired up the wood stove in the house a couple weeks ago when we had morning temps into the lower 20s. Naturally, it has since warmed up into second "Indian Summer", ha! We've had at least a week of temperatures into the 40s during the day, and above freezing at night. I'm loving it :)
Second, my silly chickens. The replacement layers have really kicked into gear the past two weeks, it's great. The past three days have provided us with 5 eggs a day-not bad for just 8 laying hens! (Having typed that, I do have to comment that I am not positive I actually own a total of eight replacement layers-it's possible I could have a roo in there, I don't know! Buff Orpingtons are supposed to be very quiet birds and indeed they are-but does that include the roos too? Who knows!) My older hens have stopped laying and one is molting. Luckily I have someone waiting to take them....their culture highly prizes free ranging type chickens. So here in a few weeks they'll be caught up and *poof*, off they'll go. My Yokohama pair I am keeping. They are pretty small birds and don't eat much and if the rooster drives me crazy due to his crowing, I can forgive him since he's blind on one side. Poor thing. The Yokohama hen is a delight, easily picked up and cuddled and a big hit with all the children that visit us.
We've pulled a bunch of panels out of the arena, to make a small round pen for winter use. This allows us to plow all the way around the perimeter over the winter, and aids greatly at breakup in the spring. I've pulled the chicken wire fence from around the garden and next year, I will use some of the extra panels I have stashed out back-that should keep errant moose from snacking on my vegetables.
A few weeks back, a good friend lost their home to a house fire. So, we ended up with some extra vehicles parked down below that could not be accommodated anywhere else. By chance, they have since moved in to the area, and it will be nice to do some visiting back and forth over the winter. It prompted me to check my own insurance coverage and thank heavens, we're okay on that.
So right now, we are in a holding pattern, waiting for the first real snow fall of the season. If we can squeak out another week, I'll be pleased-I still don't have my studded tires on yet, lol
Instead, a summary of the home front:
First, the firewood chore is basically done. All that is left is burning off the raked up branches, leaves, and bark bits left from all the splitting. Yay! Everything is neatly stacked under the woodshed, and it's a weight off the mind knowing it's there and ready. I fired up the wood stove in the house a couple weeks ago when we had morning temps into the lower 20s. Naturally, it has since warmed up into second "Indian Summer", ha! We've had at least a week of temperatures into the 40s during the day, and above freezing at night. I'm loving it :)
Second, my silly chickens. The replacement layers have really kicked into gear the past two weeks, it's great. The past three days have provided us with 5 eggs a day-not bad for just 8 laying hens! (Having typed that, I do have to comment that I am not positive I actually own a total of eight replacement layers-it's possible I could have a roo in there, I don't know! Buff Orpingtons are supposed to be very quiet birds and indeed they are-but does that include the roos too? Who knows!) My older hens have stopped laying and one is molting. Luckily I have someone waiting to take them....their culture highly prizes free ranging type chickens. So here in a few weeks they'll be caught up and *poof*, off they'll go. My Yokohama pair I am keeping. They are pretty small birds and don't eat much and if the rooster drives me crazy due to his crowing, I can forgive him since he's blind on one side. Poor thing. The Yokohama hen is a delight, easily picked up and cuddled and a big hit with all the children that visit us.
We've pulled a bunch of panels out of the arena, to make a small round pen for winter use. This allows us to plow all the way around the perimeter over the winter, and aids greatly at breakup in the spring. I've pulled the chicken wire fence from around the garden and next year, I will use some of the extra panels I have stashed out back-that should keep errant moose from snacking on my vegetables.
A few weeks back, a good friend lost their home to a house fire. So, we ended up with some extra vehicles parked down below that could not be accommodated anywhere else. By chance, they have since moved in to the area, and it will be nice to do some visiting back and forth over the winter. It prompted me to check my own insurance coverage and thank heavens, we're okay on that.
So right now, we are in a holding pattern, waiting for the first real snow fall of the season. If we can squeak out another week, I'll be pleased-I still don't have my studded tires on yet, lol
Monday, October 4, 2010
Summer was not quite over
The weather goddess smiled upon us here in Alaska.....we were gifted with nearly two full weeks of sunny skies-once the fog burned off, that is.
Some hay was put up, but most was wrapped for cattle, meaning another year of tight supply for horse owners. I have had to switch to round bales-something I have not done in many years, but we have mostly figured out how to cope with those. Luckily, there are several farms that managed to put up very nice rounds....nearly everyone that had the equipment, used proprionic acid (not sure this is the correct spelling) this year due to the weather.
On the home front, the greenhouse is mucked out and those items stacked and stowed. The seemingly never ending chore of firewood is continuing...one of these days it will all be done too, I hope! Moved the stock tank under the barn roof and plugged in the stock tank heater-yes, we've had some upper 20s mornings already, brrr! Today I need to pick up some OTC asthma/allergy meds for the old fart, because he has developed a nasty cough.
The chicken coop got its light onto a timer, and the insulated water bowl is in and working. They are still free to roam but when it's windy and cold, they tend to stay in the coop itself. Consequently, I am figuring out how to manage that many birds in a small space, even though two are ready for someone's stew pot. I think I need another three or four laying boxes and things should settle out okay in there.
We had a big wind storm a week or so ago, lots of people lost power. Ours was only off for a few hours over one night, but we lost at least 15 trees. Some, which were healthy, middle aged birch, literally snapped off about 15 feet up :( When the winds died down, my hub went around with the chain saw and took down the leaners and the broken ones. So that is yet more "wood chores" to deal with, hopefully before the first serious snowfall. Naturally, it's laying all over in pick up stick piles, complete with branches, ugh.
Over this past weekend, I spent my time processing. First, my in-laws had this season's salmon to smoke and can. They did the brining at their place, and then it came to us for drying and smoking. Once that was done it was a simple matter of stuffing jars and processing for the required time. 53 pints for them, and they are very pleased with the results. The last batch in the canners I just supervised and let my SIL do the work-she has been helping for years, and is now about ready to go it alone, I think.
After that, I canned up a bunch of moose stew. The moose came from a family members' big bull, that we helped cut and wrap last week. They were going to toss out the neck bones, etc, and we snagged onto them and put them in the freezer instead ;) My hub took a bunch of bones out and tended to roasting them for hours. This rends out a lot of the fat, and imparts a nice, rich flavor. After that, the bones went into our two largest stock pots and they simmered for at least six hours. Then a quick chill and the next day I was able to skim off the remaining fats easily. We added the stew basics-spuds, carrots and onions and very little else. It tasted very very good before it even went into the quart jars :)
Following that, I processed some of the local spuds I had picked up to use with the stew-and still have more to get done. I think I am down to about two canner loads of spuds, plus the box of local apples I got given yesterday. Oh and let's not forget all the high bush cranberries that I need to make up into cranberry ketchup this coming weekend.....
Eventually, I will be done.
Right?
Some hay was put up, but most was wrapped for cattle, meaning another year of tight supply for horse owners. I have had to switch to round bales-something I have not done in many years, but we have mostly figured out how to cope with those. Luckily, there are several farms that managed to put up very nice rounds....nearly everyone that had the equipment, used proprionic acid (not sure this is the correct spelling) this year due to the weather.
On the home front, the greenhouse is mucked out and those items stacked and stowed. The seemingly never ending chore of firewood is continuing...one of these days it will all be done too, I hope! Moved the stock tank under the barn roof and plugged in the stock tank heater-yes, we've had some upper 20s mornings already, brrr! Today I need to pick up some OTC asthma/allergy meds for the old fart, because he has developed a nasty cough.
The chicken coop got its light onto a timer, and the insulated water bowl is in and working. They are still free to roam but when it's windy and cold, they tend to stay in the coop itself. Consequently, I am figuring out how to manage that many birds in a small space, even though two are ready for someone's stew pot. I think I need another three or four laying boxes and things should settle out okay in there.
We had a big wind storm a week or so ago, lots of people lost power. Ours was only off for a few hours over one night, but we lost at least 15 trees. Some, which were healthy, middle aged birch, literally snapped off about 15 feet up :( When the winds died down, my hub went around with the chain saw and took down the leaners and the broken ones. So that is yet more "wood chores" to deal with, hopefully before the first serious snowfall. Naturally, it's laying all over in pick up stick piles, complete with branches, ugh.
Over this past weekend, I spent my time processing. First, my in-laws had this season's salmon to smoke and can. They did the brining at their place, and then it came to us for drying and smoking. Once that was done it was a simple matter of stuffing jars and processing for the required time. 53 pints for them, and they are very pleased with the results. The last batch in the canners I just supervised and let my SIL do the work-she has been helping for years, and is now about ready to go it alone, I think.
After that, I canned up a bunch of moose stew. The moose came from a family members' big bull, that we helped cut and wrap last week. They were going to toss out the neck bones, etc, and we snagged onto them and put them in the freezer instead ;) My hub took a bunch of bones out and tended to roasting them for hours. This rends out a lot of the fat, and imparts a nice, rich flavor. After that, the bones went into our two largest stock pots and they simmered for at least six hours. Then a quick chill and the next day I was able to skim off the remaining fats easily. We added the stew basics-spuds, carrots and onions and very little else. It tasted very very good before it even went into the quart jars :)
Following that, I processed some of the local spuds I had picked up to use with the stew-and still have more to get done. I think I am down to about two canner loads of spuds, plus the box of local apples I got given yesterday. Oh and let's not forget all the high bush cranberries that I need to make up into cranberry ketchup this coming weekend.....
Eventually, I will be done.
Right?
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