Obama’s New Civility

Dubya spoke recently by invitation at a small Christian college in Phoenix. One of the instructors in attendance wrote an article (that has appeared in NPR, American Thinker, Dallas Morning News, online forums and blogs everywhere) describing the gauntlet (of hundreds of protestors) attendees had to run to enter the building.

It was apparent the author enjoyed the speech very much.

“He spoke of the God-given yearning for freedom that is written in the hearts of every human being, reminding us that despite the sorrow inflicted by terrorism, the suffering endured from dictatorial oppression, and the pain inflicted by injustice, good will prevail, and God is good – always.”

(BTW, Obama should steal this from Bush for a future Libya speech, to all those of little faith…)

I found a few of the photos of protestors on the college site to include for your viewing pleasure.





I just want to know why. He’s not the guy in charge anymore. Why protest? He’s a private citizen now, speaking to other private citizens about faith, who have every right to speak, and listen, and attend an event without being harassed, heckled, and screamed at. Are they protesting that this tiny evangelical college wanted Bush to speak? Are they protesting the attendees? No one here has the power to make policy that affects these protestors. Why not protest where you can actually maybe make a difference?

Well, it’s OBVIOUS that the motive is HATE, an obsessive HATE, as strong as the day he left office OVER TWO YEARS AGO. He’s no longer the president, and the sick looneys still follow him around spewing their HATE and VITRIOL. I believe Bush is far more at risk for assassination than Obama. This is crazy.

Dippy Hippy

The counterculture was not pretty. Some believe the selfish, immature, irresponsible, unethical behavior of many Americans today has its roots in the 60s and 70s...

Presidential Hate

Many feel that the hate directed at Obama is unprecedented. I can confirm that there ARE many who hate him. I certainly don’t want to engage in a who-hated-who-more contest between Obama and Bush. (It is interesting that many Obama-supporters try to connect Obama-hate to just racism. Do they not understand the political issues? However, there are racists, and there are those who genuinely disagree with his policies who also go too far.) I must confess that I feel the natural urge to notice, point out and oppose all the hate for Dubya because I like him.

However we got here now, whether it was by defending Bush or by defending Obama, we all need to denounce the craziness. If you allow Bush-hate in your public space, you’re allowing Obama-hate, too. Everyone needs to take the high road and condemn ALL of it as terrible. This is shameful. There’s free speech, and then there’s a ridiculous extreme, the abuse of free speech.

A blogger known as Zombie spent a lot of time and energy collecting photo evidence of Bush-hate signs and displays for an article on his blog. His purposes were not what you think. Firstly, he had a difficult time finding them because they were not in the mainstream media, but photos taken by himself or individuals at events and posted, thus proving media bias. They did exist, but the media and WE didn’t think they were newsworthy or important. We accept extreme, hate-soaked displays in our public space. That is a sad observation of us.

http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=621

I’m grateful for the chance to focus on this now, even though the rationale is wonky (it was okay to victimize a white man, but not a black man). If having a black president is what it took to get our attention on this matter, thank goodness.

I am an outspoken critic of Obama’s presidency. I also think he’s a handsome man and a great salesman (with no product to sell), very pleasant and unbelievably brave. His two biggest problems are he was never a Boy Scout (!) and he hoped to parlay his lawyer-skills (the only knowledge base he has) and unusual background (his background is not the same as most Americans) into an influential political position, “to make a difference in the world.” It’s not his fault that he doesn’t understand how America WORKS; it’s ours for electing him. His intentions were good, and the road to Hell is paved with them. My opinion is incompetence. You have no idea how much I wish Obama WAS a competent black president.

If only he had been in scouts. See, he’s the guy standing on the side, talking about what all he’s going to do. Some of the other boys are actually doing, leading, advancing through projects and ranks. I can imagine little Barry then gathering the younger, littler kids together to stage a protest and demand ranks be given them, listing reasons why, all external “reasons.” It doesn’t matter what they say – nobody gets ranks and badges who didn’t earn them. Then the Scoutmaster points out to Barry how he organized this, what a great ability and what great people skills he has – now use your skills and energy to organize and lead a service project! Create value for your community and self, not take it from others and demand it be given. Use your powers for good, not bad!

(BTW, Scouts involvement fixes a lot of faulty thinking. You carry your own backpack. You earn your own accolades. It’s pure.)

However, it would bring tears to my eyes if this man were shot, like so many of the white-guy presidents were. Reagan was shot. Ford was shot at as he reached to shake the hand of Charles Manson-follower, Squeaky Fromme. Four bullets were in the gun, none in the firing chamber. Kennedy…Lincoln… Unspeakable shame. There are 20 known attempts to assassinate presidents, none so far for Obama, thank God.

I believe the secret service has their hands full, in more ways than one. When I saw the pictures of Michelle strolling the streets of Spain with her 40 closest friends on vacation, I was alarmed for her safety first, then pissed at the extravagant waste of taxpayer money. Where were the agents? Not in the pictures. I wanted to yell at her to at least think of those two little girls – take a car for God’s sake! Does she think we only have crazy people in America?

So, I appreciate the vigilance today in condemning over-the-top presidential hate. Zombie states that the number of threats investigated by the secret service is up 400% with Obama. He believes an increased number of threats is not necessarily the case, but the vigilance of Americans to alert the service so they CAN investigate is.

When I see the hired demonstrators at the Wisconsin capitol blow their hoo-hubas and bang their little drum-dinkers, I could puke. They look like 2-year-olds. (Noise is a primitive attack, as someone with hearing loss and sensitivity, I don’t find this amusing.) I am not proud of these Americans and the so-called American process at that moment. We have a process that supports right to assemble and free speech, and I see a lot of demonstrations today as an ABUSE. Let’s put the freaks from Westboro Church at the top of the list. ABUSE of our precious rights!

I know proposing legislation to check abuse would never pass. But, in my dream world, we could define free speech abuse as using racial and sexual slurs, nudity (the naked men at the Berkeley parade was a visual assault!), or any images of violence and death used in a political context. (Note I did not say artistic context, although the crap coming out of Hollywood can be considered more political than artistic these days.) Then let a jury of peers decide. They just need a careful framework of law to guide them.

Stop trying to shock people to get their attention! Your argument either has merit or not. It’s obvious it does not.

NOTE: I tried to find an example of a hate-spewing Obama sign to run next to the Bush guillotine display…couldn’t find one anywhere on the same par as the stuff against Bush on Zombie’s blog. This is a great story found on another blog, put together by kids at Marquette University. Their findings? The same. Sorry, the media bias on this one is very clear.

http://mu-warrior.blogspot.com/2009/09/those-offensive-anti-obama-signs.html

Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands

I wanted to share THIS picture with you because I think we have the WRONG picture in our heads when we look at limiting the right to bear arms. First, we visualize the handful of gun-toting crazies who over the years have opened fire at a political gathering, school, restaurant, and post office. They are mentally ill. And if they don’t have a gun, they strap a homemade bomb to their chest and sit on a bench at a college campus. They get lots of press and attention.

I personally imagined that the bulk of gun-owners were sportsmen. I’ve always supported their right to engage in this traditional, family-oriented activity. Important lessons about responsibility and confidence are transmitted during long periods of time ACTUALLY spent with sons and daughters on hunting trips.

A sorority sister, who hunts with her husband, sons and daughter, commented on a Facebook friend’s query yesterday. The man, a gun dealer and trainer, asked his gun-savvy female friends for suggestions for the best way to illustrate a new holster product for women that involved the chest area. My sis provided her usual wit (“well, that brings a whole new meaning to packin’ pistols”), but I can understand his dilemma as a “married Christian man.” The idea here is to get women to stop putting the gun in a purse, the first thing grabbed by a mugger.

But, this is the fascinating part (as if a bra-holster isn’t): 70% of his students are women. Concealed-carry products are the bulk of his business. Over 50% of those products are purchased by women. Everything else is a distant second.

Then, today, a cousin posted this pic proudly posing with her classmates upon completion of that man’s Concealed-Carry class! (I know, Facebook is a trip! That whole degrees of separation thing…paths zig-zagging every which way.)

This picture is an important piece of the right-to-bear-arms puzzle. We need to start imagining WOMEN when we consider chipping away at their rights.

How many of those women depicted have been beaten by boyfriends or husbands? How many raped? How many finally feel safe, empowered, calm and capable?

I’d like to add two additional puzzle pieces.

Women who recently rallied for democracy in Egypt were arrested, beaten, photographed, and subjected to “virginity tests.” Don’t ask me what a virginity test is (If the presence of a hymen is explored, is she a virgin afterward? Why do ignorant people STILL equate the unreliable hymen as proof of virginity?), BUT, if she failed, she got raped. Now, that’s a test you definitely want to study for. I realize this isn’t Egypt, but I want to make sure any American woman has the right and means to defend herself from sadistic sexists. Call it an “equalizer” or better yet “equal protection under the law.”

Second point. The wife of my husband’s young co-worker was at home with their small children in a back bedroom one recent morning. She was chatting on the phone with her husband when she heard the back door kicked in by two intruders. She met them in the hallway to the bedrooms with her gun. She killed one and hospitalized the other. Later that day this young Army engineer’s wife was busy packing everything she owned to move to another state, after receiving death threats from the intruders’ families. She did not want to have to use her gun again to defend her family. His transfer to Utah was approved immediately.

If a woman wants a gun, she should have it. End of story.

END NOTE: There are two Gravitt women in that photo, and my great-grandmother Sarah would be beaming with pride. I believe Sarah knew how to handle a piece herself since she was married to a U.S. Marshall here in the Territory, our great-grandfather Philow Washington. She would want her female kin to fight back!

There Are No Right Answers

Cooter and I are arguing about what would be the correct answer to this question on his Chapter 26 history study guide:

President Reagan’s “Star Wars” program would have
a. Put weapons in space
b. Increased nuclear weapons production
c. Stopped any attack against the United States

He insists “a.” I say “c,” because the text at no time describes the lasers on ground and in space as “weapons” (I’m trying to find exact duplication of terms). Furthermore, the text specifically says this program is to stop an attack. Young Cooter wisely said, “I don’t care what the book says. The lasers shoot and destroy missiles thus they are a weapon, and ‘c’ says ANY. Any attacks? Maybe, and that’s a big maybe, just the missile ones.” Spoken like a true video gamer.

But my son doesn’t understand that in public education, he is supposed to regurgitate. They don’t have time for a lengthy analysis. I picture the teacher staring at him, then glaring at his defiance and nerve to challenge her red mark on his paper. My son does not do well with most public school teachers, and his “grades” reflect it. He thinks too much. Sigh.

Stoopid damn public school test materials…

Wut up, nigga?

I have a wonderful friend, a black man with whom I attended junior high school in the 1970s, during the time of “busing.” For some reason, the smart people in charge at that time thought it would be good to take a black kid from a poor, black neighborhood and bus him to the opposite side of town to attend a school in a poor, white neighborhood. We both joke about how crappy this school was. Nevertheless, a wrong was set aright – money, time, and effort were expended to enable my friend and many others to attend this rotten school…and I’m personally glad because otherwise I would not have met this wonderful person.

We recently reconnected on Facebook, and this weekend I saw the pictures he posted of the 50th birthday party of his sister. She wore a blue formal gown with a sparkly tiara perched on her head. Another sister wore a gold lame’ blouse, the 80-something mother a bright pink suit with shoulder pads, sharp and church-ready! I love it when people dress in such a joyful, lively manner. That older sister was the queen of the ball, the princess of the prom, and I resolved right then to do the same when I turn 50 in three years.

Being the nosy Facebook creeper I am, I enjoyed reading the comments from family and friends, wishing the sister birthday happiness and remarking on the combined beauty of these women. Then I came to one comment from a male that said “wut up, nigga!” and I froze. Who was he talking to? The sister in the photo or the photographer-brother who posted it? Huh? How dare someone cast a cloud on this lovely family occasion!

I know my black friends call each other this and mean it like a slangy substitute for “friend.” But, is this really the right time and place? I can’t stand either version, the original “nigger,” or its stoopid cousin “nigga.” Even typing it makes me feel disgusting.

However, this is not my business, my sister, my photo, my Facebook page. But, I did wonder how my friend would view this. I seem to remember him grinning in embarrassment in the distant past, shoving a stoopid friend behind his body, like you would shove your daffy great-uncle in the broom closet before company arrives. Yeah, we all have friends like that, you know.

The comment was removed less than an hour after its appearance, as if it never happened.

Well, now I have to research it, study it, understand it. I do believe in the power of co-opting words, claiming an evil word or concept as your own and giving it a new meaning on your terms. But, where are we now in 2011? It’s still a stoopid word created by stoopid racists who were too ignorant to properly pronounce Niger. And now it is still being used by stoopid people living in the past.

The past I speak of is circa 1970s. Richard Pryor was a tortured soul and a comedic genius. He is the man I credit with the brilliant move of taking this powerful, evil word and draining it of its juice. Every last drop of hate. Laughter can do that, strip a situation of its pain and frustration, like a beautiful healing balm. Pryor was an amazing person when you begin to analyze what laughter can change AND what people laughing together can change. He was a great human being.

But. After he traveled to Africa as a tourist, he never used the word “nigga” again in his routines. I wonder if he felt, at that time, that the word’s time was over and now its widespread use might hold black Americans back in their collective psyche of how they regard themselves. I wonder if he was a little sad at his part in society holding onto a word that should have been buried with no funeral, or a little happy at his part in moving us all down the healing path to a better tomorrow. I’m sure it was both.

I don’t regard black people as “niggas,” and I am impatient with those who still do. I am impatient for a new world, the future.

The best Internet discussion I found of this situation was on the site of black political pundit and Columbia University professor Marc Lamont Hill. Dr. Hill, a pleasant and charming liberal, wrote a very funny piece on this topic. “We’re conflicted!” he asserts. I smiled throughout the article.

http://www.marclamonthill.com/is-it-ok-to-call-niggas-nigga-1511

He asks for a little more time and understanding as black America wrestles with this weed in its front yard. Okay, Marc. Take all the time you need, my friends, but please hurry. Because we need black America and ALL-ALL-ALL of its energy, intelligence, forbearance, vibrance, and creativity, and I am anxious to see it in my lifetime.

Join me in making this a better place before we, too, have to leave.




Richard Pryor, RIP

The Movie Star

A friend asked that I write a little thing acknowledging today's passing of one of the greatest movie stars of our time, Elizabeth Taylor. He included some thought-starters:

"Breathtakingly beautiful. Fat and Bloated. Child star. Sex symbol. Award-winning actress. The marriages. The divorces. The jewelry. The career. National Velvet, Little Women, Raintree County, Giant, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Cleopatra, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Violet eyes. Perfume. Champion of AIDS sufferers. Self-absorbed. Generous and giving. The world is a lesser place without her."

I think his words stand by themselves as a fitting tribute.

The only things I would add are: Did you know she raised more money for AIDS research than she ever earned as an actress? And she was the first actress paid $1 million for a picture. (Debbie Reynolds, whom Liz burned when she stole her husband Eddie Fisher, was the second.) :^) A traditional 1950s woman who really knew how to make the dough...

The Total Package

This pic is for those of my friends who have never seen it before...it sort of "commands" your attention, huh.

I laugh everytime I see this photo! I insist that George W. Bush was the greatest war president we've ever had.

World Peace

“…for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace.” – Ronald Reagan, 6/12/87, standing near the Berlin Wall, delivering his famous “Tear Down This Wall!” speech.

Mr. Obama has no idea how to claim and frame world events around him to mold perception of himself and US as the fortunate heroes we are. He should take a tip from the master, Reagan, who knew how to put smiles on American faces, flushed with pride. He really knew how to peddle hope and lift a country’s spirits. Mr. Obama is probably a nice person, but he is out of his league. I really believe he has no one capable around him to help him fulfill his role in history. I prefer to believe that scenario instead of Mr. Obama refusing to listen to the advice of any capable advisors.

He missed the opportunity on this one (to position us as the victor over tyranny and the deliverer of freedom in the Middle East) because I suspect he really does not see the situation as thus. But, I do – yes, I see big possibilities in small, routine news items (we have become so jaded to life around us.) The people of Egypt oust their dictator – oh, that’s nice. Gadhafi flies in mercenaries to mow his own people down when his generals refuse to – oh, that’s sad.

Wake up! See the opportunities and possibilities! Remember: Educated, free Muslim women do not VOTE for their sons to become suicide bombers. I think I can glimpse World Peace, in my lifetime.

And for the 10th time, when I look to Mr. Obama expecting to see leadership, something to get behind and rally us together, I see…nothing. And when I look around, at us? Bickering. Confusion. Nonchalance. Like usual. Remember the oil spill?

God, I miss Ronny. He would be having a heyday with World Peace within his grasp. Funny how Reagan will always be perceived as a hawk, while Obama got a Nobel Peace Prize, for being black, certainly not for assisting the populace push for Democracy in the Middle East, and thus ushering in human rights, education, TRUE progress. The very idea of that still makes me light-headed, even giddy. That’s real change, real hope. Why is Obama so cautious on this?

Because he has no idea who he is, who we are, or what he believes in. The rest of us don’t know, either! Will he be the guy who gave billions to unnecessary or nonexistent projects to stimulate the economy (don’t think that worked). Will he be the president that brought free-health-care-for-all, or that’s what was supposed to be in the 1000s-page bill no one read…(we’re still not clear on exactly how this will work or if it will be declared unconstitutional or blocked by states who can’t pay for it). He’s definitely the guy who, faced with the worst instance of environmental damage inflicted by industry, set up a commission of lawyers to negotiate for a fund for victims’ claims (and BP low-balled them on that monetary cap). Hmmm. I’m thinking here, I really am. What will be his legacy?

Oh. It’s as obvious as the nose on my face. He’s the black guy. Well, when we’re done having our token black, maybe we can get a president who really sees himself as The Leader of the Free World. He can be purple for all I care. But wouldn’t it be incredible if he was black? You know, with all those powerful concepts of Leader and Free thrown into the perception of him. That is who Obama COULD be. If only he could embrace it.

Well, I don’t think we’ll ever see him strut down a carrier deck in a pilot’s jumpsuit like “W” or Putin (with his, you know, “package” on display), but I can help him out with the speech (to replace that lame-ass one I heard on NPR explaining the scope of the U.N.’s resolution to us little people who will be paying for it with our taxes).

It should have been in the evening, televised, from the garden.

“Tonight, we stand. We stand at the beginning of a new world, one of peace and unprecedented cooperation between its inhabitants. We stand witness to the desire of the peoples of the Middle East and we hear their cries for freedom. We stand ready to help, by evening the playing field. And by doing so, we all stand a chance for harmony and happiness. It’s time for us to take a stand.”

And, that is how you take your place in history. Not by explaining that we have to go do this because the U.N. told us to.

The Last Word

The last word on former President Gerald Ford comes from a New York Times article.

[Mr. Nessen and others said they particularly enjoyed swapping memories of how Mr. Ford had treated people, regardless of their station in life, with dignity and respect, and how he had never taken on airs.

He described the day when Mr. Ford’s dog, Liberty, made a mess on the carpet in the Oval Office and a Navy steward had scrambled to clean it. The president stopped him.

“ ‘I’ll do that,’ ” Mr. Nessen recalled Mr. Ford saying. “ ‘No man should have to clean up after another man’s dog.’ ”

Mr. Ford’s energy secretary, Frank G. Zarb, remembered the time when Mr. Ford had been ready to make an announcement to the White House press corps but then realized he did not have any cufflinks handy.

“He got two paperclips,” Mr. Zarb recalled. “And he said, ‘Let’s go. We have more important things to do.’ ”]

Betty and the kids say goodbye...

The Healers

It’s unfair to poke fun at former President Gerald Ford. I’ve been reading up on him, and this was a great guy. There’s a lot to be said about him, in spite of history textbook publishers trying to edit him out.

First, can you name a president who inherited a bigger pile of crap to deal with? The end of our involvement in Viet Nam and the fall of South Viet Nam, a sick economy with staggering inflation, and widespread disappointment and disillusionment in our government, thanks to Nixon and Watergate.

You know how we gripe and curse our politicians today, or merely shrug when we hear the president was caught in a bald-faced lie and cover up? It wasn’t like that before Nixon…well, and I guess, during, huh.

(Actually I can think of a poor schmuck who inherited a bigger pile of crap…Lincoln, but I’m digressing…) We just “lost” a war, the economy was in the toilet, and the president was impeached. Here you go, all yours.

He did try to do something for the economy, called Whip Inflation Now – WIN – get it? It didn’t work despite that catchy name. Can you blame a man for trying? (Well, actually I can, if he runs up a trillion dollar debt in deficit spending in the attempt because that is just crazeee.)

So, he mostly just tried to stay the course. And, Nixon did pick the right man to succeed him. Many are quoted as saying in his 25 years in the legislature, he never spoke an untruth or spoke ill of another. I don’t think I could do that. I would have to speak ill of my co-workers! Only 3 in the Senate did not vote for him to become vice president. This was, by all accounts an honest, nice man. He’s the only president who was an Eagle Scout. He was captain of his football team. He washed dishes at his fraternity house in college to pay for it.

Another great accomplishment, in my opinion, was marrying Betty, despite the general opinion that a divorcee-ex-dancer would ruin his political career. Who does not love this woman? She’s breaking taboos, sharing her mastectomy with the world, marching for ERA, talking about her sex life with the prez in women’s magazines, yakking on the CB radio as “First Mama.” Buttons were made for his re-election that said “Vote for Betty’s Husband.” She often made sandwiches and coffee for the secret service detail, delivered by Gerry. Her approval rating was 75%! And the last thing to say about her is consider the lives she has healed with her Betty Ford Center for addictions and the lives she saved with breast cancer awareness. She gives Eleanor a hard run for Best First Lady we’ve ever had, only in the job three years.

While Gerry was busy healing a nation, she was busy healing a nation of individuals.

His stance on gay rights: gay and lesbian couples “ought to be treated equally. Period.” He was part of a group working inside the R-party to make sexual orientation a NON-ISSUE. Thank you. The Equal Rights Amendment: Outspoken supporter, urged ratification.

After he was sworn in, he immediately addressed the country. “I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots, and so I ask you to confirm me as your president with your prayers.”

How could we have skipped over these wonderful people?

For his funeral, he requested his college fight song play instead of “Hail to the Chief” and a large role made for the Boy Scouts of America. 400 young men in uniform provided escort; others served as ushers.

Many historians consider his loss to Carter a “sacrifice he made for the nation.” He died of heart failure in 2006, the longest living president.

Despite the image of being a klutz (thank you, media, for your part in creating this false legacy), he played his role in our nation’s history with uncommon grace.

Ah, Yes, the Ford Years

I am gonna drive everyone crazy the next few weeks writing about Cooter’s U.S. History textbook, as we focus on recent history, the events that have shaped the last 40 years of our country and my life.

Cooter commented that Gerald Ford got only three paragraphs, out of the 1000-page text. He asked if I remembered anything about him. I had to laugh because the only thing I remembered was funny montages of his stumbling and fumbling his way from the helicopter on the lawn to the house. His eyebrows went up. “Really? You know he was a football player.”

Well, I think the skimpy coverage does say something about the guy who was the 38th president of our nation and who was NEVER elected as president NOR vice president. How is that possible? Nixon APPOINTED him when his vp Agnew resigned, and so Ford elevated when Nixon resigned.

What the quick treatment says is he did pretty much nothing (except immediately pardon Nixon), he basically kept the seat warm for Carter who was swept in during a very anti-Republican election. Ford barely beat out Ronald Reagan for the presidential party nomination in 1976. Then got stomped by the post-Nixon, anti-Republican sentiment. And so we ended up with Jimmy Carter…who was a very good man, but not as good of a president.

And for that reason alone, yes, Nixon, you were a crook.

I almost feel slimy posting a link to his trippings...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlz0he9rtKw

When to Throw the Penalty Flag?

A friend, that I like and respect, and I were discussing the role of government. She felt strongly that the role of government is to right the wrongs in society. Who else can do it, certainly not the citizens, they are powerless. My first impulse was to agree. After all, I can think of many instances in which the government was the only entity powerful enough to right a wrong: the Civil Rights Act, the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Sherman AntiTrust Act, to name a few.

The government had to step in and right the unacceptable wrongs occurring for blacks in the South. It would not have happened on its own, I believe this. Regarding immoral and unethical businesses destroying our environment, how can we as citizens keep an eye on every business dumping toxic waste into our water supply? Yes, this needs a governmental solution. (Although, today, one could argue how ineffective the EPA is in its task since some businesses still dump toxic waste irresponsibly and bribe officials to look the other way.) And who can possibly take on a monopoly other than the government.

However, now that I have had a little more time to ponder this statement, I want to disagree with my friend in many cases. People do have power, with their money. They can choose to spend their money with conscientious businesses. This requires an informed populace and an ethical, resolute free press, neither of which we have at the moment, though. The U.S. is like a perfect storm, with coalescing factors swirling together (an uneducated populace due to the failure of public education, stoopid politicians elected with no expertise or experience in any area -- some who can barely think or speak, entire industries guilty of immoral conduct, labor unions with business-killing demands, huge percentages receiving public assistance, high taxes, high unemployment, deficit spending, shocking debt, dependency on foreign business and governments…). What will be the result? A tsunami wave, an earth-shattering quake, a hurricane sucking the country down into a vortex?

In a perfect world, the people do hold the power to right wrongs with their pocketbooks. I suspect we see it all the time around us and do not recognize it for what it is. I think the American people repudiated anti-business labor unions many years ago…when they chose to buy Hondas and Toyotas instead of Fords and Chevrolets. And instead of letting the people’s economic vote stand, our government took our tax money and used it to rescue the auto industry, allowing the grip-hold of unions to continue, now sucking the life out of not only their host companies but the American taxpayer as well.

This is what that previous sentence means: You chose to buy a Toyota because it was a better product for less money (compared to the jacked up Chevy price to cover ridiculous American factory labor costs). And then your government decided you needed to buy a Chevy, too, with your taxes, so that we can “save” the manufacturing union jobs. Your money supports two car companies, although you only selected one. And, you only got one actual car to drive home.

Was British Petroleum punished for its oil spill last summer? For a long time, stock analysts recommended buying the seriously devalued stock, as the large multinational company will surely rebound. There’s fortunes to be made. Now, some are starting to say sell, the costs associated with restitution of the spill will only continue to escalate, that there will be no happy ending. So has the punishing power of the people’s money done its work here? Way too early to say.

Recalls of contaminated food? Punishing bad companies with our buying decisions should definitely work in this case. But, I read that we are developing “recall fatigue,” not even paying attention to recalls since they have become so common. Costco now telephones customers to let them know they purchased a recalled item. Does this relay into any economic punishment? “When spinach was recalled in 2006, consumers took over a year to return to previous spending patterns. But after recent calls of peanut butter, beef and eggs, customers came back in a matter of weeks.” Okay, so, yes and no. We have to eat, for God’s sake. And the same food producers sell their food to different packagers and marketers…gee, it’s like a hidden monopoly in some instances. Actually, shouldn’t we reward companies who do recall items instead of those who let it go?

So, what’s the stance we should adopt for governmental involvement? If a financial punishment/reward by the people will work, let it. If a church or a charity can step in and help, let them. We need to be very careful about the new areas of influence we allow our government. So the question becomes for each American, what are the wrongs so seriously wrong, and no other recourse exists to fix it, that the government must step in and right? Could boycotts have worked to solve the civil rights issues? I don’t think so, we were seeing bombings of churches and buses, murder, beatings, outright criminal behavior skewing the natural order of economics. Civil Rights is just the perfect example of when a government must get involved and RIGHT a serious WRONG.

Many people feel that any abortion under any circumstances is a wrong the government must right. Others feel not creating a system for free universal health care for all, as an advanced civilization, is a wrong that must be set right. Some feel that the human rights violations in other countries is an unacceptable wrong to be righted, their sense of decency is offended, and they cannot simply avert their eyes. I understand and sympathize with all these positions…and yet, disagree completely that these are areas requiring, even demanding, government action.

We simply do not have the money to do all the wonderful things we’d like to. And whatever we endorse as a government (such as the current model of medicine) may show itself as criminally negligent in the future. Kind of like backing Saddam Hussein with our money, satellites, helicopters when Iraq attacked Iran in 1980. Yeah, we really did that. And don’t you wish you had that money back…

Young Black Men

A news item in the local paper caught my eye…an 18-year-old student at Edmond Memorial High is charged with aggravated assault and battery after fracturing the skull and jaw of a 15-year-old student in the school restroom. The older kid is black, weighs 270 pounds, plays football and identifies himself as a “Rolling 60s” Crip. The younger kid has a Mexican surname, weighs 155 pounds.

[Police reported Fields admitted hitting and stomping the other student, saying Sanchez used a racial slur and “got what he deserved.”

Police reported Fields also said “this is what you get when you mess” with someone “from the hood.” Police reported Fields repeatedly described himself as a “Rolling 60s” gang member.

Witnesses said the assault began because someone in the bathroom was singing a rap song, which has the slur in it, police reported.]

So, the Mexican kid may or may not have been the one singing. Details are sketchy on that. Regardless, Fields is an idiot. And a dangerous one at that. Who knows what situation he will misperceive next, there’s already many packed into this little scenario. First, mistakenly assuming he was the personal recipient of a racial slur and possibly mistaking who made it, then thinking an acceptable response to that would be breaking someone’s skull and jaw. This is a stoopid and dangerous individual. How should we as a society try to fix this? Can this young man be rehabilitated, taught to be more patient before reacting with his fists, taught more appropriate responses? Sure he can, but the chances are not likely in our current system. He will be given a year in prison where he’ll really learn the dope on how to be a career criminal – why bother with a trial, he already confessed to the crime.

Another question is why would a football player be so eager to claim gang membership? This is Oklahoma, football is serious business here, and a 270-pound defensive lineman on the MaxPreps list has a future. At one time this boy was ranked 25 in the state in his position. Did the gang influence outweigh the football influence?

So, what’s up with the Rolling 60s Crips – who the hell are they and why are they in an Oklahoma City suburb? Wickipedia: “According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Rollin’ 60s is ‘the largest black criminal street gang in the city of Los Angeles with between 2400-4500 members just in LA…Gang activities include pre-meditated murder, bank robberies, rape, drug trafficking, carjacking, assault and vandalism.’”

Did this idiot not realize he had a future?

Why the hell are they here, in the heartland – we already have tornadoes, snow blizzards, flooding, out-of-control grass fires, dust storms, ice storms that make trees explode, an earthquake that shook my house, temps that range from below zero to over 100 – do we really need the gang problem, too?

So, how did the Crips become an organization with 35,000 members in multiple subsets (over 800 by 1999)? The top four states with the highest estimated numbers of members are: California, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. You’ve got to be kidding me. We’re freaking Crip-Central? This is sort of funny if it weren’t so damn tragic. Missouri – the Ozark mountains, home of the hillbillies? Oklahoma – nothing here but plains grasses, blackjack scrub, cows, and oil wells drilling here and there. Wow. Why have we fallen prey to a foreign invading sweep of gang culture? (Trust me, California and Oklahoma are like foreign countries to each other!) Why does anyone succumb?

According to the Wikipedia article on the Crips, two guys joined their little street gangs in 1969 to fight other little street gangs. They became known as the Crips, a reference to the young age of 17 of the members (cribs) that morphed into crips, short for cripples, when some started carrying canes to display their pimp status. But, this is the line that makes me see red in the article.

“Gang activity in South Central Los Angeles has its roots in a variety of factors dating back to the 1950s and 60s, including post-WWII economic decline leading to joblessness and poverty, racial segregation leading to the formation of black “street clubs” by young African American men who were excluded from organizations such as the Boy Scouts, and the waning of black nationalist organizations such as the Black Panther Party and the Black Power Movement.”

The Boy Scouts refused to let black young men join? Really? And the Black Panthers were waning in 1969? Hmmm. Why would they name the BSA, the only one named mind you, for widespread racism?

This was written by someone who has no idea how BSA works. The BSA is not a top-down organization, in which a group of men sit on high and make decisions how things are going to happen in the thousands of little packs and troops all over the nation and world. No, it’s the greatest, largest mobilization of community volunteers the world has ever seen. Packs and troops are run by volunteer dads and moms, who commit their time and energy to delivering a program in their neighborhood. The parents choose whether they will work to ensure a certain experience for their children, and they are not paid one dime. Every unit reflects the cultural make-up of its community. You would be shocked to know how few paid positions there are in the BSA. And those guys concern themselves with background checks and training of all the volunteers, raising money, and moving resources to the local units.

Yes, there are strict, tough troops with strict, tough dads running the show, with military ties. They camp a lot, engage in high-adventure experiences. There are soft, laid-back troops, who focus on merit badges like Reading. All sorts of crews or explorer posts that focus on a future profession or hobby: law enforcement posts sponsored by police departments, scuba diving venture crews, etc. The typical BSA unit today is sponsored by the Mormon church, but executed by the parents in the neighborhood (although, there are a lot of Methodist church-sponsored units). Through ongoing training of the adults, a strong, vital unit can be maintained for years.

Little Johnny’s dad, Scoutmaster of Hoolaboolah, may have been guilty of racism in 1969, probably was. But, that may not be the official stance of the BSA, and the BSA cannot control what every volunteer does and says. Let’s look closer at black involvement in scouting.

The first black troop was formed in 1911 in North Carolina. (BTW, the BSA was not officially chartered by the U.S. Congress until 1916, so this troop probably applied for a charter from England. The Boy Scouts of America was just getting started in 1910.) By 1926, there were 5000 black scouts in 250 all-black troops (segregation was not the fault of BSA). By the 1960s, a committee on inter-racial service became Urban Relationship Service, working to establish units for inner-city children of all races. According to this article found on a website for the African American Registry, “Programs targeting gangs were unexpectedly successful, and in many cities as many as 25% of boys living in housing projects were enrolled in the Scouts, many former gang members.” Of course, units in the north were integrated, most of those in the south were segregated. After the Civil Rights Act, all units became integrated except those that chose to remain all black. (And I have a problem with that actually, it’s called reverse discrimination. However, I am sensitive to the needs of individual communities and their methods to achieve their goals. A BSA unit ONLY reflects the composition and commitment of the individuals in its community.)

The greatest program for young men in the history of the world is available to all young men. Oh, thank God. The only thing you need is volunteer parents to run the unit. However…even that is changing today in high-need areas. Yes, units are sprouting up all over for the sons of homeless families and sons of incarcerated single mothers, all conceived and executed by VOLUNTEERS who are not the parents. God bless those citizens providing this service for the future of our nation. Tears well in my eyes looking at the pictures and videos of little boys given blue shirts, yellow kerchiefs and a code to try to live by, with or without their compromised parents.

So, how can someone carelessly claim the BSA excluded black youth and furthermore, name the BSA as a CAUSE of the rise of gangs, and how can the rest of us let that sort of statement pass? Did you know some scout jamborees were raided by Ku Klux Klan? The scope of this lie is absolutely breathtaking. They not only included black boys, but bared the brunt of radical crazies because of it.

What about advancement, were black scouts blocked from achieving high ranks? Let’s talk about Eagles, those young men who defy the odds (less than 2% rise to this top rank). Do you know what it takes to earn the Eagle rank? The young men who do this are special, there is something inside of them driving them forward with positive attitude. It would take too long to explain all the 21 individual merit badges with escalating pre-requisites in specific areas, the numerous pieces of each rank building toward the next, endless boards of review and scoutmaster conferences, and the Eagle Service Project itself, omg, which has to be approved by several committees, volunteers recruited, funds raised or solicited, do the dumb project, the work evaluated, then all the paperwork before, during, and after. At every step is a dad or mom volunteer checking quality, character and intent before signing off. Some young men do this incredible thing as young as 14, however most are 17. This is not easy, and I propose that most American adults could not do this. Eagles go on to win Nobel Peace Prizes and fly spaceships to the moon. They will naturally assume roles of leading this nation.

The first black Eagle was probably Edgar Cunningham in 1926 (uh, that was 43 years before the Crips formed), and the reasons this is uncertain are because several young black men eagled at that time and BSA does not ask ethnicity on Eagle rank applications.

There was Dr. Frank “Tick” Coleman, of Washington, DC, eagling in 1927, who went into education and counseling. Tick said “If we can get young men, young boys into scouting, it might help them get off the streets with these guns.” And you know an Eagle doesn’t just talk, they do. He dedicated many years to bringing scouting to underprivileged youth. He passed away in 2008, but a prestigious award is still given annually in his name by the BSA to its volunteer scouters who serve underprivileged youth. He said “I always wanted to make a difference.”

And what about Percy Ellis Sullivan, a 1936 Eagle out of San Antonio who went on to become a legend, first as a Tuskegee Airman then a Civil Rights lawyer. He said, “I dreamed that I could go anywhere in the Boy Scouts.”

Then there’s Chuck Smith, retired president and CEO of AT&T West, an Eagle from inner-city LA. “Clearly I wouldn’t have been president and CEO of a Fortune 500 company if it were not for this great movement of ours. I attribute every day of my success to it,” he said.

And check out Guy Bluford. While the Crips were forming in LA, he was busy getting a bunch of college degrees and flying planes for the Air Force, which would all lead to being the first African American in space. Of course he was an Eagle. He brought back the Challenger flag to a scout troop in Colorado.

Earl G. Graves, vice president of the BSA board, founder and publisher of Black Enterprise magazine, and an Eagle, said “The generation now being shaped by scouting will be strengthened by deserved self-confidence and molded with its own history of kindness, bravery, honesty, and its all-out pursuit of excellence.”

I dare you to say that the BSA excluded black youth causing a rise in gangs to the faces of these Eagle Scouts.

The answer is clear to me. If you want to make this a better world (in which young black men do not crush the skulls of young Hispanic men in high school bathrooms), get out your checkbook and donate some money to the Boy Scouts of America. I looked, there is no scout unit in Arcadia, the Edmond community where the big-wrecking-ball football player/ Rollin’ 60s Crip dude lives.



Earl Graves, magazine publisher...Eagle.



Guy Bluford, first African American in space...Eagle.



Chuck Smith, business titan...Eagle.



Percy Ellis Sullivan, Tuskegee Airman, famous Civil Rights lawyer...Eagle



Tick Coleman, mentoring football players into his 90s...Eagle.

Look at that crackerjack on the far right. Isn’t he the cat’s pajamas? I know a Senior Patrol Leader when I see one, and it’s not by the color of their skin. What is that young man going to be when he grows up? Oh my lord, anything he wants to be!

Can’t Buy Me Love

Do you notice any bias slant in the questions posed to the young readers of my son’s history textbook? Is it “unusual” to suggest a traditional, prosperous life? This is why many home school.
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I’ll tell you straight up, I am a conservative female, and yet, I hate Phyllis Schlafly. But the witch is smarter than her feminist contemporaries and tries to open eyes to a certain truth. There will never be equality between the sexes until men have the babies. They are not equal. At some things, women are better; at other things, men are. And then there are all those darn individual variations. The Equal Rights Amendment is one of those awesome little pieces of legislation that strives to change an unchangeable reality.

Sexual “equality,” or the attitude that women should be able to have sex indiscriminately, has only led to a bunch of stoopid single mothers living in poverty, and raising those children in poverty with limited opportunities. Without some kind of code of behavior, whether religion-enforced or not, our loose society has victimized those children.

Women have been made victims, too. Most women continue to work in fields that pay less, in the “pink collar ghetto.” Raising children and pursuing a career is a juggling act no one does well. They struggle to hold on to a decent job. Their education may have been sidetracked due to motherhood. They struggle to get a decent job, lacking qualifications. Hmmmm. Stoopid American Women didn’t realize by pursuing sexual equality, they would take a hit in economic equality.

Not only are the children and women hurt, but the rest of us, as well. With the influx of female workers into the labor force, who will accept lower wages, the real cost of labor has declined for all. This is a simple supply-demand equation determining price (lots of women in addition to men competing for the same supply of jobs, resulting in a lower wage paid to those selected). Add to the scenario the pressure on American Business from foreign competition with slave-like labor, and we get lowered standard of living for Americans. Married women with children MUST work (thanks to feminism, they no longer have a choice), so that the household has two crappy incomes and can maintain some quality of life, meaning a house instead of an apartment.

Not passing the ERA as the companion legislation to the Civil Rights package exacerbated the economic situation with low wages. The Civil Rights laws addressed unfair hiring, housing, and loaning practices. The ERA would have made sure all the women hired were paid the same as men. Why wouldn’t a business want to hire several women for the price of a few men? AND with the advent of Affirmative Action, businesses will be rewarded for doing it, with government money. It’s crazy, huh. They made a bunch of laws and policies that worsened the very situation they hoped to fix (low wages for some women) by dragging down wages for everyone and rewarding business for doing it.

I remember how, as a young single female newspaper reporter (all reporters are paid the same and starving), I used to snatch the fresh issue off the delivery piles, turn to the op-ed page, and rant about the latest Schlafly column. I was particularly outraged by her proposal of a “mommy track.” How insulting! I was in my early 20s and knew nothing about life, family, children, never imagined how I might one day try to balance the needs of my employer with the needs of my child. My fellow female reporters and I even made fun of her name after verbally shredding her arguments. (Of course, we were all relegated to covering the arts, entertainment, education, cooking and society beats. No females worked the police and court beats. So, we were pissed anyway.)

Fast forward 10 years. I’m a marketing mukkety-muk flying all over the world, anxiously talking to my small children in brief phone conversations in evenings. Sitting in Chicago traffic in a taxi, staring at the rain, I wished there was such a thing as a mommy track for me. Anything to relieve the pressure. I was sick from worry and guilt. I would have been happier if only the travel could have been reduced.

Look at the picture of Gloria Steinem. She’s beautiful. Wild, free, strong. Did she have kids and feel the tear in her heart? No, she did not. What if she had had a son, who came out of the womb carrying his genetic male DNA code from centuries past? Would she have understood that he now faces life in a modern world that does not value his natural characteristics? Even scorns them? Her stepson is Christian Bale, isn’t that interesting. Can you think of a more traditionally masculine male actor? Wow, who really was the British guy she was married to for three years? She recently appeared on “The Colbert Report” to tell us that men who take care of their children have better sex. How does she know this? Was there a study? Who determines what “care of their children” means and what is “better sex”? She’s a sad dinosaur in her 70s, about 30 years behind the times. Trust me, a man who doesn’t care about his children is perfectly happy with the sex he’s having, and will not fall for her promise of “better.” He’s got plenty of stoopid bitches in line.

What about Phyllis? She had six children. Still going strong with her groups, forums, books, running for offices and losing. She and her husband were lawyers. Does she ever stop to think how she played a part in creating this societal mess? Let me clarify. She defeated ERA, a simple bill proposing equal pay for equal work, which is the right thing for Business to do. If it had passed, would the radical women’s groups have disbanded with the main mission accomplished, would they have been more clearly exposed as the man-hating, anti-family, free-abortions-for-all anarchists? Schlafly stoopidly claimed ERA meant abortion funding. This is untrue and inflammatory. Socialist Democratic politicians in power means public abortion funding. These are different targets. If Conservative Republicans would do the right thing for individuals would Socialist Democrats even be necessary? They help put D’s in office who then go overboard and create crazy fiscal policy that results in one of three Americans on social welfare. Yes. Unbelievable, huh.

I’ll hate that Schlafly hag forever for the ERA thing. She says the most outrageous things, but, but…she does defend a woman’s right to not be a feminist. She is on point in her criticisms of public education.

So, what is wrong with paying women equally for equal work? Nothing. Passing ERA would have slowed down the current decline of civilization as I see it. It’s smart to treat people right. It’s not smart to relax societal standards for sex, and we women have to shoulder the task of maintaining society’s standards. We must not accept a man who beats women, who does not provide for the welfare of his children, who weakly engages in substances that inhibit his ability to thrive and compete. They should not have the joy of a companion and offspring. And if we slip, we all slide down the muddy slope.

How muddy? We now live in a society in which 41 percent of children are born out of wedlock. Hold on to your seat. Over 72 percent of America’s black children are born out of wedlock. Over 52 percent of Hispanic children are. And they will all struggle with poverty, demanding more and more from the government in exchange for their votes. Would any of these women have made the same choices without the existence of a welfare state? Hey, those women have the feminist-promised good life – have sex whenever you want, with whomever you want, no consequences to pay, because you are really just like a man…what a lie.

For all of time, women will fall in love with men (let’s assume good men) and want to have children with them. In the end, it’s the only thing that really matters. Not the job. Did you love and were you loved? Wouldn’t it be great if lawmakers quit confusing fiscal and social matters, which leads to forcing an extreme anti-family agenda on us? Has “feminism” been what is best for us? Perhaps I should say anti-people, instead of anti-family, because “family values” has come to mean extreme narrow-mindedness and hate.

Extremism is bad, no matter which direction.

By the way, Betty Friedan, author of the famous 1963 book, “The Feminine Mystique,” that started the feminist movement, wrote a second book in 1981 accusing the movement of becoming “anti-family.” One article states that as early as the 1960s, she criticized the polarized and extreme factions in her own movement that attacked groups such as men and homemakers. Yes, both Gloria and Phyllis had it wrong. Betty got it right, but no one listened to her. Her voice was lost in the middle.

The Power of the People

I heard an interesting statement yesterday: The retail world has programmed us, trained us, to shop sales. We’re always hunting for the lowest price.

This is very thought-provoking, and I wonder if I agree. This is laying the blame for our current situation (the addiction to Wal-Mart and thus its ridiculous power to make or break producers as well as the addiction to All Things made in China and elsewhere that has resulted in continuous product recalls of cars, food, toys, and baby items) at the feet of Retail Business.

What about Economic Theory (resources i.e. money are scarce), Human Nature (yes, greed), and Marketing (the most powerful word in the English language being “Free!”). I don’t think we were “trained” necessarily…we were very willing participants. I do think the Wal-Mart phenomenon made it possible to find crap for less.

So here we are, my fellow Stoopid Americans. Our houses are full to the roofs with enormous amounts of crap. Some of us even make appearances on the tv show “Hoarders” because we’ve lost the use of entire rooms and dwellings. Storing our precious crap has become important. How many of us rent additional storage space, paying every month to hold onto old tv sets, computers, stereos, mattresses, broken LaZBoy recliners. Do we ever stop to weigh the cost of storage against the value of the items?

“Hoarders” isn’t the only show allowing us a glimpse of the cluttered lives of Americans. It seems most of the interior decorating shows involve the removal of crap first. What about the one in which the people carry all their crap to the front yard and make three piles? The grand finale is a yard sale. Yay, more money to buy more crap! Another show artfully combines the crap belonging to newlyweds who refuse to part with their individual crap. Then there’s the fashion make-over shows. First step: discard all the crap currently in the closet.

Have you peeked into the garages of neighbors, on the rare occasion that the door is open? Sometimes there’s a dusty old car, inoperable. There are always plastic bins, stacked, by those people still treading water, struggling to push back the tide and shove it in boxes.

We are literally drowning in all our crap. We can’t even properly use the items, as we can’t find them. Our mental capacities are overwhelmed.

When will we decide “enough”? Have we learned our lesson? How many of us must die driving cheap cars with parts that fail, eating cheap, genetically-modified, factory-processed food that weakens us, makes us stoopider, and inhibits the body’s natural ability to fight infection and disease and regenerate. How many children sacrificed on the altar of Everyday Low Prices? And what about the lost potential of those young Americans, hell, America in general, because of all those individuals who eat Cheetoz instead of an apple, only exercise as the walk from house to car, or are sick and sad, overwhelmed by their lives. No matter, there’s a pill for everything. You don’t have to change the original behavior that caused the problem – take the magic pills. Yes, the ones that cause all the other side effects.

Is this the Greatest Nation on Earth? We have prospered ourselves right into stoopid oblivion. And I don’t think we can blame Business. It was good, old-fashioned Greed. Our consumer behavior driven by greed and faulty decision-making has resulted in “training” Business to find ways to cut costs and quality and deliver the goods at the price we demand. We have forced them to find raw materials in China and assemble them in Mexico. Business does what we tell it to do…and we say it with our money.

I would like to persuade my friends to do two things.

1. Spend some time with your crap this weekend. Analyze why you bought it, what did it mean to you, was it used and enjoyed, what is its role now. If there is no room or purpose for it in your life, donate it. Hold the thoughts and feelings close in your heart to remember the next time you’re at the store considering a purchase. Really question the lust for more instead of better.

2. Eat organic. Ignore the wily marketer’s commercial that high fructose corn syrup is really good for you! Target stores are leading the charge on affordable organic. You don’t have to spend three times as much to shop at specialized health food stores. Send the message that you don’t want to eat crap anymore, by choosing to spend just a little extra to be healthier. (Maybe then the 25 different arrangements of Ho-Hos will disappear to make room for more organic offerings.) Let’s change the current business dynamic. Do you really want to EAT the cheapest crap? We deserve better. Let’s demand it. And for God’s sake, don’t expect the government to make these smart choices for you and force business to do unprofitable things…government involvement leads to more corruption, confusion, wasted resources.

Let the free market work to address this problem. I see all sorts of signs that it already is beginning. Business is feeling the hit in sales and responding. McDonald’s serves oatmeal now. Yes, really. Longtime cereal manufacturers are creating new lines under new DBA’s. (Kellogg is really behind Kashi, and no, it’s not organic.) My milk carton now says: “Our farmers pledge NOT to use artificial growth hormones.” Thank you. I think I’ll show my appreciation by buying you. You farmers will succeed; the others will go out of business.

All the brilliant ideas we will have in the future, all the discoveries, humanitarian and business successes, the defeat of evils, the solving of problems – all this begins with what we choose to eat and feed our children right now. Us. Not the government idiots and shysters.