Is Farming the New Black?

[lektrode]

Re: Is Farming the New Black?

...
I don't see why Uncle Sam should police what other people eat and how other people behave to "your" personal moral standards.

Government exists only to protect the members of the society from threats, and unlawful behavior. They are not supposed to be morality enforcers, merely law enforcers.

If people make dumb morality laws, they can unmake them.

If my forced contribution to others...... is not kept to minimally healthy food options, and then I have to pay more forced contributions because the people who needed my tax money ate foolishly, and ruined their bodies, and need extra health care, then I have the right to be a little concerned about it, even if it is a mere penny. This is about principle and law, not scale of personal burden.

precisely!
i dont have any problem with the costs of the social safety net - esp since mr c1ue has pointed out that its 'only' about 60billion/year - which pales in comparison to the subidies/handouts for corporate welfare, the .edu industrial-complex(tenured/unionized elements and their cheerleaders in the liberal media and FIre sectors) and we'll just forget about the .mil complex and the 'morally necessary' wars that have utterly pre-empted 'the pivot to JOBS' - the lack of which = The Real Problem - and all we've heard is chin music about 'pressing social issues' (read: gun control and 'other necessities' ) for the past 5 years...

i also think its an issue of FAIRNESS to the middle/working class that pays-for the brunt of it, while lots of The Rest of US are willing or forced to forego the purchase of stuff most would define as 'luxuries' in the grocery category.

esp when it would be fairly easy to fix the EBT electronic payment system to prevent expensive/non-nutritional items from being charged - as well as preventing the practice i've noted of stuff being bought with EBT to be returned later for cash, purportedly due to no means of crediting-back to the recipients EBT account = pure BS and merely status-quo because its too buracratically difficult a 'problem' to address ?? (again, only for the defenders of/apologists-for the status quo)

personally - if it were up to me - i'd clawback a couple hundred billion worth of 'profits' from TBTF.inc and spend whatever it takes to fix the weakness/fraud in the system and then pay those that REALLY need snap/ebt enough to actually live on - in exchange for immed depo-provera implants until they can survive WITHOUT snap/ebt... ;)

[c1ue]

Re: Is Farming the New Black?

I'll just note that while you certainly can shop at Whole Foods with your Food Stamps - you're not going to get a whole lot.

The Food Stamp benefit for a single person is something like $130/month.

Not nothing, but if you've shopped at Whole Foods before - not a whole lot.

[reggie]

Re: Is Farming the New Black?

Just because people are fat or obese doesn't mean they aren't starving for nutrients. Living on PB&J on white bread, Macaroni & Cheese and soda pop will make people both malnourished and fat. There are more and more neighborhoods where all the grocery stores have shut down. People living in those neighborhoods have no places to buy food except expensive convenience stores and fast food restaurants.

Quite a few of my neighbors have their power cut off every few days because they can't afford electricity. One of my neighbors was walking to Jack-in-the-Box once a day for a burger. It was all he could afford. This guy is hardworking and honest, and he was going HUNGRY. I offered to buy him some milk, eggs and potatoes. He said not to because his power was shut off. He couldn't cook without electricity, and the dairy food would have gone bad without refrigeration. I gave him a bag of chips and a box of cookies and neary cried when he started shoving that junk into his mouth. He was starving. So now I give him odd jobs around my house, feed him when he comes over and send him home with some cash and non-perishible food. Whenever he has $20 I drive him to the power company so he can put the money on his electric account, which keeps his air conditioner running for a few days.

FIRE propaganda would have us believe that poor people deserve their suffering because they're lazy and stupid. But there are a lot of decent, proud people who have had their jobs, wealth and dignity stolen by FIRE. And a lot of stupid and/or broken people who need protection from exploitation, not condemnation from people with well-fed bellies. I think we should save a great deal of condemnation for the greedy sociopaths of Wall Street and their greedy, sociopathic puppets in Washington. They destroyed our economy, our society is disintigrating, and they're laughing all the way to the bank.

So will feeding new born babies formulas laced with Hexane, killing the centers of the human brain that controls appetite.

Did you know that the vast majority of DHA/LHA additives are produced by Martec, who use Petroleum based additives to excrete the oils from sea life, resulting in neurologically beneficia DHA/LHA that's laced with a dangerous toxin that attacks our neurological system. So sad that I see so many mothers feeding their kids this stuff. The children have no chance. Oh, but wait, the media tells us that it's our fault.

And this information isn't on any food label. The manufacturing processes are not typically discussed, and therefore create "hidden" opportunities for attacking the human body.

[DSpencer]

Re: Is Farming the New Black?

I'll just note that while you certainly can shop at Whole Foods with your Food Stamps - you're not going to get a whole lot.

The Food Stamp benefit for a single person is something like $130/month.

Not nothing, but if you've shopped at Whole Foods before - not a whole lot.

Very true, but that's the point. Those people clearly don't need the food stamps in the first place. Same with people who have cash to pay for a carton of cigarettes and two cases of beer.

[gwynedd1]

Re: Is Farming the New Black?

Again for me I just take a bike ride or a walk, pick some berries ,like service berries, and can them with scrap wood and branches on a homemade rocket stove.


These berries come from a weed in my yard(Solanum nigrum - not to be confused with Belladonna ):




I recently offered my "consultation' on someone who is an obvious homesteader type. I noted his Linden Basswood and violets and told him that is his spring salad for a month, longer if fermented. In a shady under-story I suggested solomon's or false solomon's seal, ostrich ferns for asparagus in the shade.

The idea is to know what you labor input is going to be. Some plants a very productive but only because they are a good engine for labor. So for this homesteader, I told him that he should look for a culture that is not necessarily good for raw output but is generally labor free. That basewood is a salad goldmine. No need to even go to the store. Other items are opportunistic. Thistle? I make spinach out of the Canadian or dig up the roots.


When I saw this I just left them until November for an easy meal. Close to a parsnip .

[lektrode]

Re: Is Farming the New Black?

nice looking pie there, gwyn... are these berries sweet?
have been enjoying a bounteous blueberry season this year...

[DSpencer]

Re: Is Farming the New Black?

So will feeding new born babies formulas laced with Hexane, killing the centers of the human brain that controls appetite.

Did you know that the vast majority of DHA/LHA additives are produced by Martec, who use Petroleum based additives to excrete the oils from sea life, resulting in neurologically beneficia DHA/LHA that's laced with a dangerous toxin that attacks our neurological system. So sad that I see so many mothers feeding their kids this stuff. The children have no chance. Oh, but wait, the media tells us that it's our fault.

And this information isn't on any food label. The manufacturing processes are not typically discussed, and therefore create "hidden" opportunities for attacking the human body.

There is a specific section on itulip for conspiracy theories. Can't these be posted or moved there?

[gwynedd1]

Re: Is Farming the New Black?

Our large industrial farms are.

[gwynedd1]

Re: Is Farming the New Black?

I would like to have my own garden, but I live next to a chemical plant, so that's a no go.

Cost me under $10 per self watering bucket. One can also use grow bags.






I mostly fill with rain water.


Out West people are sort of screwed. All the farming is subsidized with water.

[c1ue]

Re: Is Farming the New Black?

Very true, but that's the point. Those people clearly don't need the food stamps in the first place. Same with people who have cash to pay for a carton of cigarettes and two cases of beer.

I disagree.

Isn't the whole point of liberty that you can make whatever choice you desire?

If someone chooses to take their Food Stamp benefit and spend it at Whole Foods, then go hungry for 2 weeks, that is their choice. If they choose to spend it all on 1-$3 Starbucks drink every day, that's also their choice.

Good choices, bad choices, that's what choice entails.

If you really want to dig deep into what people are doing with money provided to them by the government - I suggest you focus on the areas where there's far more money being spent: banksters.

TARP alone was sufficient to fund the Food Stamp program for nearly a decade; the massive government payments being put out every day to banksters simply dwarfs almost every other category.

If that isn't enough for you, how about focusing on health care? Medicare alone is ridiculous.

The Food Stamp spending at least does something for the economy - outside of Ferrari dealers, that is.

[lektrode]

Re: Is Farming the New Black?

....If someone chooses to take their Food Stamp benefit and spend it at Whole Foods, then go hungry for 2 weeks, that is their choice. If they choose to spend it all on 1-$3 Starbucks drink every day, that's also their choice.

Good choices, bad choices, that's what choice entails.
....
TARP alone was sufficient to fund the Food Stamp program for nearly a decade; the massive government payments being put out every day to banksters simply dwarfs almost every other category.

If that isn't enough for you, how about focusing on health care? Medicare alone is ridiculous.

The Food Stamp spending at least does something for the economy - outside of Ferrari dealers, that is.

good point = 1 for mr c1ue.

it beats the hell out of some of the choices the political class likes to make/use to hold the jobless/poor/hungry hostage to,
in any case...

[shiny!]

Re: Is Farming the New Black?

There is a specific section on itulip for conspiracy theories. Can't these be posted or moved there?

Unfortunately, today's conspiracy theories can turn out to be tomorrow's news. I'm open to Reggie's ideas. Doesn't mean I automatically believe every one of them, but I like to check them out for myself. Some which sounded crazy (to me) turned out to be true.

Was it just a conspiracy theory that the government was spying on every single one of us to the degree that they have? Or that government projects like MKUltra existed and still exist under other names? Or that scientists started work decades ago to develop effective methods of mass mind-control? No. As crazy as these things sounded, they turned out to be true.

There's an Ignore feature you can use if you don't like reading someone's posts. I'm not saying this to be snarky, but in the spirit of friendship.

[c1ue]

Re: Is Farming the New Black?

Was it just a conspiracy theory that the government was spying on every single one of us to the degree that they have?

Actually, reggie never said the government was spying on us. What he said, was that the entire Internet was nothing but a government created and maintained system of control.

Complete bunkum - as the details of the gyrations the NSA has undergone in order to perform the spying shows.

Or that government projects like MKUltra existed and still exist under other names? Or that scientists started work decades ago to develop effective methods of mass mind-control?

I don't see why it is so odd to think that the government has attempted these.

Note that I say 'attempt' - not succeed. In World War II - the government had people working on psychic spying, on iceberg aircraft carriers, on trained dolphins used for anti-submarine/mine clearing, etc etc.

More recent projects can be seen here:

http://www.cracked.com/article_19331...orking-on.html

There is a big difference, however, between attempting to do something and successfully doing it.

What we are seeing with the NSA is exactly on par with a bureaucratic government agency with a multi-billion dollar budget and a secret mandate doing everything you'd expect a secretive, bureaucratic government agency to do: grow by exceeding its mandate.

[DSpencer]

Re: Is Farming the New Black?

I disagree.

Isn't the whole point of liberty that you can make whatever choice you desire?

If someone chooses to take their Food Stamp benefit and spend it at Whole Foods, then go hungry for 2 weeks, that is their choice. If they choose to spend it all on 1-$3 Starbucks drink every day, that's also their choice.

Good choices, bad choices, that's what choice entails.

If you really want to dig deep into what people are doing with money provided to them by the government - I suggest you focus on the areas where there's far more money being spent: banksters.

TARP alone was sufficient to fund the Food Stamp program for nearly a decade; the massive government payments being put out every day to banksters simply dwarfs almost every other category.

If that isn't enough for you, how about focusing on health care? Medicare alone is ridiculous.

The Food Stamp spending at least does something for the economy - outside of Ferrari dealers, that is.

1. This is not about liberty. This is about government spending. If you think that taxing workers to pay other peoples' for caramel mocha lattes at Starbucks is a legitimate function of government, then you're entitled to your opinion. Personally, I think it's a waste of taxpayer money. How much simpler can this point be made?
2. Do you REALLY believe that people are spending their food stamps at Whole Foods and then not eating for 2 weeks?
3. I didn't support the bailouts at the time and I still don't. This is not an either/or choice. We can stop socializing the losses of private banks AND we can stop paying billions of dollars for people on food stamps to drink soda and develop diabetes. I understand prioritization but it's not like we're deciding which bill to put to a vote first.

[lektrode]

Re: Is Farming the New Black?

Unfortunately, today's conspiracy theories can turn out to be tomorrow's news. I'm open to Reggie's ideas. Doesn't mean I automatically believe every one of them, but I like to check them out for myself. Some which sounded crazy (to me) turned out to be true.

Was it just a conspiracy theory that the government was spying on every single one of us to the degree that they have? Or that government projects like MKUltra existed and still exist under other names? Or that scientists started work decades ago to develop effective methods of mass mind-control? No. As crazy as these things sounded, they turned out to be true.

There's an Ignore feature you can use if you don't like reading someone's posts. I'm not saying this to be snarky, but in the spirit of friendship.

i'll 2nd that - and funny as things go - while the rest of the planet was watching the blunderer-in-chief,
i watched a movie last night, hosted/narrated by this guy

altho the date on the box is 2012 (and includes 2 other 'docudramas') it was quite obviously made b4 2008-09...

and i dont have anybody on here set to ignore - am always kinda dumbfounded by that concept.