Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Religion
Pew: 6% Percent of Atheists and Agnostics Pray Every Day
The question is, how many people who claim to be religious and believe in God pray every day? And another question: to whom are they praying?  I am reminded of the story told by Viktor Suvorov about the trick Soviet school teachers used to wean children from God:  having them all first pray out loud at their desks with their eyes closed for God to give them candy, only to open their eyes and find nothing, THEN do the same thing but pray to the government (Soviet).  The teacher or aides put candy on the desks while the children’s eyes are closed, and then! Voila!

Theft by government
Westward Ho! Wyoming, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska Have Best Tax Climates
(CNSNews.com) Which does NOT mean that they are “good” tax climates: just better than the other forty-six states because they steal less and don’t have as much paperwork.  Still, with operations in several states, I can tell you that South Dakota (home and tax base for me) is much better than the surrounding states not just for individuals but for businesses.  Sadly, these states don’t seem to have a lot of atheists (praying or otherwise) as compared to their more socially-advanced brethren on the Coasts; and three of the four are “flyover country.”

Stupid government – Nanny state tyranny – the “messiah’s” consort
Rhode Island: ‘Let’s Move!’ Praises Daycare Center That Serve Hummus and Homemade Oatmeal
(CNSNews.com) “The program added new healthy snacks and meals to their menu like hummus, homemade oatmeal with cinnamon and apples, and yogurt with granola and bananas. They also only offer kids healthy drinks, such as water and low-fat or non-fat milk,” according to an October 10^th “Let’s Move!” press release. The “Let’s Move!” website advises day care centers to “opt for healthier alternatives” in snacks for kids. For example, instead of cupcakes, a day care center can provide “zucchini or carrot mini-muffins.” Instead of cheese puffs, it should opt for “thinly sliced vegetables and low-fat ranch dip.” “Toddlers and preschoolers love dipping, so try serving veggies with yogurt, hummus, low-fat dressing, or low-fat melted cheese,” according to the website’s goals for “healthy eating.”

Now THAT is sick.  It is disgusting that government agencies are wasting tax money (or STOLEN money) to promote this sort of garbage (literally). What IS hummus? Middle Eastern and Arabic food dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas, blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic (according to Wikipedia): It seems to have some sort of religious significance to the “messiah’s” consort.  It is apparently part of the Arabanization or Islamization of the Union, under the benevolent rule of the “messiah” and his consort.  Better haggis than hummus, frankly.  And what EXACTLY is homemade oatmeal? (Which, by the way, is a key ingredient of haggis but NOT of hummus.)  Here is how you manufacture oatmeal: “Oatmeal manufacture involves harvesting, washing, steaming, and hulling the oats. Standard oats are steel-cut, whereas quick-cooking oats are rolled between cylinders to produce a flatter flake. Once flaked, the oats are roasted and packaged.” ( How oatmeal is made) Kiddies, don’t try that at home.  Face it folks, there is NO SUCH THING as “homemade oatmeal,” and given the laws these days, these idiots in Rhode Island are NOT providing “home-cooked oatmeal!”  And I will bet you that (1) they are using quick-cooking oats (1 hour regular stove, 1-2 minutes microwave) and NOT regular 2-3 hour regular stove and “who knows how long microwave – you really want to clean up that mess and endure that smell”?  And of course, I’m sure the microwave gets a workout.  Apparently, “homemade” is in contrast to those silly little wax paper packages that you rip open and add boiling water to. (I would generally rather eat the wax paper.  By the way, I am still not sure why oatmeal is so “healthy” because it has never seemed to do anything for my cholesterol, although I do like it:  I am eating some right now as I type this:  1/3 cup of oatmeal, 2/3 cup of water, a tablespoon of butter, a tablespoon of honey, a small handful of chocolate chips, a tablespoon of cinnamon and a minute in the microwave!  Ah, wonderful!  But healthy?  I hope so.)

Mama’s Note: Steel cut oats do take longer to cook, and I don’t much care for them, but rolled oats come as both “old fashioned” and “quick,” which is simply rolled oats flaked and cut fine. Neither of the rolled oat forms take more than a few minutes to cook, either stove top or microwave. Cooking either for an hour would be a serious food crime in my book. 🙂 “Instant” anything is denatured, often with essential elements removed, and doesn’t qualify as “food” at all to me.

Those who like “hummus” are certainly welcome to it. I can’t stand it myself. 🙂 But the question here isn’t WHAT is being given to these children, really, but the whole idea that government of any kind, at any level, has anything to say about it.

Stupid government – Culture wars: destroying families
DELAWARE: You are a felon if you spank your child:
(Freedom Outpost)  Actually, the conviction ranges from a significant felony to a pretty serious misdemeanor, with jail time from one month to two years.

Nathan: One more sign of the impending collapse.  No surprise that Joe Biden’s son was a strong supporter of this.

Mama’s Note: One more good reason not to live there anymore. Just talked with a man who recently moved from there… unfortunately, he went to Florida!  He’s finding out he didn’t really improve his situation any. Going to get much worse before it gets any better. 😦

Nathan’s response: Yes, and the only real hope left is South Dakota, Wyoming, MAYBE North Dakota and Montana and Idaho, and maybe-maybe WESTERN Nebraska or Kansas.  About it.  (Funny, several of those benighted places also have weird, outdated ideas about taxes and budgets. Must be a religious thing.)  Stay away even from Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona.  (A friend in Florida says the only sane part of the state is the Panhandle, west of Panama City. The rest is toast.)

Stupid government tricks – Nanny-state tyranny
“Genetically Engineered” In California: A Food Label We Don’t Need
(forbes.com) Ironically, Proposition 37 would also impose huge costs on producers who try to avoid GE. Those committed to using GE ingredients can slap a “Genetically Engineered” label on their products and be done. But producers who want to sell non-GE foods must bear the costs of tracing the source of every ingredient they use and getting sworn guarantees that they “are not knowingly or intentionally” engineered.

A single slip-up – for example, in the form of a missing link in the paper trail — could result in criminal prosecution or a private lawsuit filed by anyone who has ever bought a “mislabeled” product in a grocery store, food stand, or farmer’s market. The initiative is a trial lawyer’s dream, which is not surprising given that it was written by a trial lawyer who has spent his career suing small food producers in California.

Mama’s Note: We all know the FDA is not the right way to deal with this subject, but this article has some excellent points.  The “organic” crowd, and those specifically wishing to market non-GMO products would be the most likely to be damaged by this silly legislation.

Nathan: This should be a comment on my article on Washing Machines… yesterday: same sort of thing.  New regulations kill jobs and businesses.  I just saw that happen in the last two hours.  A project to build and operate a largish RV park (100+ spaces, about a million dollar investment) got deep-sixed because the local sanitation district (a government entity) wanted to charge a “tap fee” of over a quarter-million dollars (one fee for each of the 100+ units), even though the developer would build and install and connect all the sewer lines. The tap fee is in addition to the actual monthly fee for sewage!  It explains why no new motels or hotels or RV parks have been built in this town in the past 12+ years!