This'n'That; October 5th

BLOGGING AGAIN: I intend to continue this restart at least on a weekly basis, but hopefully more frequently!! THAT DAM' BAIL-OUT: I had high hopes for the House Republicans standing their ground and not "rolling over" on Friday's vote....... Shudda known better!!! I wrote a letter to [Geeze] Louise Slaughter, my representative and one of the MOST LIBERAL individuals in recorded history!!! THE LETTER VERBATIM: Rep [Geeze] Louise Slaughter 2469 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C., 20515 Geeze, I gotta tell ya, I DO NOT AGREE with the Congressional majority opinion that the financial bail-out is necessary !!! You are a mental midget if you think your affirmative vote on the "bail-out" bill of last Friday was in MY best interests. Alas, this is the action I expected from New York's "Give-Away Gang": Clinton, Schumer, Yourself and those of your ilk. Did you not read/study American history in high school/college ?? This bail-out fiasco will just become another GIANT LEAP toward the socialization of America. Given the funds involved, it will be the "third [and maybe the most expensive] chapter" after FDR's New Deal and LBJ's Great Society. Hopefully we, your constituents, will have your "political head" when this latest, massive congressional give-away falls on it's face !!! Geeze ?!?!?! How did you muster the "testicular fortitude" to include over $150 BILLION in UNNECESSARY PORK to this bill ?? $2 MILLION for wooden arrows ?? $3.3 BILLION for declining logging income ?? $192 MILLION for Puerto Rican and Virgin Islands rum ?? 1.3 BILLION for black lung debt erasure ?? and many, many other examples !! I gotta idea....... Why don't you and I monitor this and the $85 BILLION loan to AIG closely.... Let's try to find out which of you and your cronies monetarily benefit most by playing the congressional game of quasi-legal diversion of funds to other-unrelated programs [read: POCKETS !!]. Geeze, let's you and I keep in touch, OK ?? ....and I'll write when I get work... My Full Name My Postal Address My Email Address Til Nex'time......

This'n'That; 04/16

A Question The Doctor Couldn't Answer. I am a twenty-five year Type-2 diabetic. As such, I religiously read most of the labels of the foods I buy. Each time the protein value was listed there was no RDA value. So, during my routine quarterly visit with the doctor, I asked her what the recommended daily intake of protein was........ She didn't know; it's never come up in professional conversations before. Here's what my research found: RDA Recommended Daily Allowance [RDA] has evolved over time to be "Dietary Reference Intake [DRI]" which is defined as: 1. A US term for Dietary Reference Values. In addition to average requirements and RDA, include tolerable upper levels [UL] of intake from supplements. 2. A set of nutritional guidelines conderning the intake of vitamins and minerals from food rather than supplements. 3. Current Dietary Reference Intake [DRI] recommendations are composed of: Estimated Average Requirements [EAR], expected to satisfy the needs of 50% of the people in that age group. Reference Daily Intake [RDI], the daily dietary intake level of a nutrient considered sufficient to meet the requirements of nearly all [97-98%] healthy individuals in each life-stage and gender group. Adequate Intake [AI], where no RDE has been established, but the amount established is somewhat less firmly believed to be adequate for everyone in the demographic group. Tolerable upper intake levels [UL], to caution against excessive intake of nutrients [like vitamin D] that can be harmful in large amounts Macronutrients [RDI/AI] shown below for males, 19-30 years] Water 3.7L/day Carbohydrates 130g/day Fiver 38g/day Fat 10g/day Linoleic acid [Omega-6] 17g/day Alpha-Linolenic acid [Omega-3] 1.6g/day Protein 58g/day Cholesterol, trans-fatty acids and saturated fatty acids- "as low as possible" [added] Sugar No more than 25% of caloric intake [ http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index ] This information begs some questions: 1. With the Omega-3 RDI levels set at 1.6g/day, can one "od" on Omega-3? What level would be considered an "od"? 2. I had no idea that the protein RDI was at this level. How does one possibly achieve this level on a daily basis ? Housing "Crisis?" THERE IS NONE !!! There's a crisis in the general economy..........WORLDWIDE !!! As for the housing situation, NO federal bail-out sould be forthcoming. The unscrupulous lenders should have been fully aware of the possible negative results. Theirs was a usurious profit ploy. They put home buyers into homes the buyers couldn't possibly afford through methords that included balloon payments, "fudging" income and existing debt levels. The lenders themselves "rolled the dice" and lost-they should be forsed to "eat the loss" and/or go bankrupt. SUCKS TO BE THEM !!! Additionally, Americans have taken the mind-set that it's unacceptable to fail. Without failure, there is no success !!! On a personal note, I've been "wiped out" three times. Not once did I sue an ex-wife to regain the tools of my trade[s], avalued and valuable coin collection or fight exorbitant child support/alimony. Never did I file for bankruptcy or leave creditors "holding the bag." Nor did I bemoan the economic conditions that forced me from lucrative self-employment and into factory work. I just changed my career path for the ump-teenth time and went on to be successful once again. Get over it, home buyers !!! You weren't screwed out of your house !!! You were in a house YOU COULDN'T AFFORD !!! You probably would have lost the house eventually anyway. Pull yourself into the upright [and locked] position and get on with life !!! Stop whining that someone, shomewhere, owes you something !!! I don't owe you; they don't owe you; the government doesn't owe you !!! Here We Go [Again]. Today's the big day !!! I'm finally scheduled to suffer through orientation as a re-hire with the company I left last July. I just hope I don't have to take all those silly tests as before. We shall see............... Til next time................

The "Peroxide" Email............

The "peroxide" email is making the rounds; this is the first time I have seen it. It sure sounds like nature's cure-all to me. The information almost seems too good to be true so I checked it out at snopes.com [http://www.snopes.com/medical/homecure/peroxide.asp]. Snopes said a couple of important things: A. Some of the items are accurate while others are unproved and possibly unprovable. B. Snopes quoted The Centers for Disease Control which said that when 3 to 5% hydrogen peroxide is used as a household cleaner, it is mildly irratiting to the skin and mucous membranes. Due to this statement, snopes advises that the proxide not be used as a nasal spray or added to a douche to prevent yeast infections. I've marked those items [**] that may be suspect. On to the email: This is what Oxi clean is.......... Did you Know that???? 3% peroxide........... 'I would like to tell you of the benefits of that plain little old bottle of 3% peroxide you can get for under $1.00 at any drug store. My husband has been in the medical field for over 36 years, and most doctors don't tell you about peroxide, or they would lose thousands of dollars.' 1. Take one capful [the little white cap that coms with the bottle] and hold in your mouth for 10 minutes daily, then spit it out. [I do it when I bathe] No more canker sores and your teeth will be whiter without expensive pastes. Use it instead of mouthwash. [Small print says mouth wash and gargle right on the bottle] 2. Let your toothbrushes soak in a cup of 'Peroxide' to keep them free of germs. 3. Clean your counters, table tops with peroxide to kill germs and leave a fresh smell. Simply put a little on your dishrag when you wipe, or spray it on the counters. 4. After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour peroxide on it to kill salmonella and other bacteria. 5. [Remember this is the email not me !!! ] I had a fungus on my feet for years - until I sprayed a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water on them [especially the toes] every night and let dry. 6. Soak any infections or cuts in 3% peroxide for five to ten minutes several times a day. My husband has seen gangrene that would not heal with any medicine, but was healed by soaking in peroxide. 7. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water and keep it in every bathroom to disinfect without harming your septic system like bleach or most other disinfectants will. **8. Tilt your head back and spray into nostrils with your 50/50 mixture whenever you have a cold, or plugged sinuses. It will bubble and help to kill the bacteria. Hold for a few minutes then blow your nose into a tissue. 9. If you have a terrible toothache and cannot get to a dentist right away, put a capful of 3% peroxide into your mouth and hold it for ten minutes several times a day. The pain will lessen greatly. 10. And of course, if you like a natural look to your hair, spray the 50/50 solution on your wet hair after a shower and comb it through.. Yout will not have the peroxide burnt blonde hair like the hair dye packages, but more natural highlights if your hair is a light brown, reddish or dirty blonde. It also lightens gradually so it's not a drastic change. **11. Put half a bottle of peroxide in your bath to rid boils, fungus, or other skin infections. 12. You can also add a cup of peroxide instead of bleach to a load of whites in your laundry to whiten them. If there is blood on clothing, pour directly on the soiled spot. Let it sit for a minute, then rub it and rinse with cold water. Repeat if necessary. 13. I use peroxide to clean my mirrors with, and there is no smearing which is why I love it so much for this. I could go on and on. It is a little brown bottle no home should be without! With prices of most necessities rising, I'm glad there's a way to save tons of money in such a simple, healthy manner. Send on to others who might need to know the benefits of 3% peroxide [Til next time..............]

About CAFFEINE

Due to my diabetes, I subscribe to NUTRITION ACTION, a health newsletter published by The Center for Science in the Public Interest. In the March, 2008 issue, the lead article is intitled "CAFFEINE The Good, the Bad and the Maybe." Here is an article "Caffeine America" published as a sidebar to the main article: Caffeine America Up until ten years ago. the only foods with added caffeine were soft drinks. And the Food and Drug Administration limited the amount to 48 milligrams per eight ounces. That changed in 1997, when the first popular energy drink-an Austrian import called RED BULL-hit the U.S. Every 8-ounce can of the sweetened fortified water contains 80 mg of caffeine. "For whatever reasons, the FDA decided not to challenge RED BULL," says caffeine expert Roland Griffiths of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. "And that started the aggressive marketing of caffeine-containing food products." RED BULL's success attracted copycats. Drinks like ADRENALINE RUSH, NO FEAR, and ROCKSTAR PUNCHED pushed caffeine levels to 240 mg per 16 oz can. And with the FDA looking the other way, the drive to caffeinate has spilled over to candy bars, hot cereal, chewing gum, chips, jelly beans, mints, beer, and more. GOTTA HAVE IT Caffeine isn't just any food additive. "It's a pharmacological agent, a drug, and it leads to physical dependence in people who use it regularly," says Griffiths. After less than a week of consuming caffeine every day, most people will experience headache, fatigue, decreased alertness, and/or drowsiness if they stop. Caffeine is also different from other food additives because, like nicotine and amphetamines, it functions as a "drug reinforcer," says Griffiths. In other words, people are more likely to choose a food with caffeine over one that's caffeine-free. That hasn't been lost on food and beverage companies, notes Griffiths. "Caffeine increases the probability that the product will be bought and consumed. And it induces dependence and builds customer loyalty. That's probably the reason that 70 percent of soft drinks have added caffeine." PUSHING LABELING In 1997, we petitioned the FDA to require labels of foods with caffeine to list how much is in each serving. This January, the Fed said that the petition "is still active and pending and the Angency has not reached any decision yet." You can help push the federal tortoise along by signing and mailing this coupon. [also published is the coupon referred to:] To: FDA Dockets Management [HFA-305] -Docket No. 97P-0329 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061 Rockville, MD, 20852 From: ______________________ _______________________ _______________________ As a member of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, I urge you to act on the 1997 petition by CSPI and-as recommended by the American Medical Association-require labels of foods that contain significant amounts of caf- feine to disclose how much is in each serving.

The Welfare State.... [Part 1, "The New Deal"]

During the years after World War I and those leading up to his nomination and subsequent election to the Presidency, Franklin Roosevelt [FDR] was fully aware of the nation's problems. Although FDR had been born into and grew up in a household of wealth and privilege, he had first hand knowledge of the economy and the various strata of that era's society. His knowledge was gained through his education and various governmental posts at the local, state and federal levels. FDR-Groton, Harvard and Columbia Law educated, had worked as a lawyer in New York City; was a NY state Senator, US Senator, Assistant Secretary of the Navy and NY Governor. The nation was experiencing unbridled prosperity in the years after the world war. The concept of "installment buying" had arrived !!! People on all levels of society were making purchases with small down payments followed by a few dollars monthly until the purchase was complete. This concept had eventually spread throughout the economy including the stock market. Brokers allowed stock purchases with as little as 10-15% as a down payment. The broker then loaned the investor the balance of the purchase price. This advance called a "margin," was paid back at the sale of the stock. With so much investing done on the margin, brokers were forced to borrow funds from banks who also became heavily in debt. Almost everyone from the day laborer to the Wall Street financier, were "making money-hand over fist" !!! The period from the mid to the late 1920s provided great prosperity for the vast majority of Americans. Housewives were investing their milk money !!! The New York Stock Exchange reached it's highest levels in August, 1929. The Dow-Jones Industrial Average [DJIA or "The Dow"] is a mathematical barometer of the health of American stock markets as a whole. On September 3, 1929, the DJIA reached it's peak at 381.17. The market then fell sharply, the decline lasted approximately a month, loosing 17% of it's value. During the next week, prices gained about half their losses, but then suffered a drastic downturn once more. This accelerated into "Black Thursday", October 24, 1929. Although minuscule by today's standards, a record 12.9 million shares traded on that day alone. On the following Monday the trading continued; on into the following day, "Black Tuesday", October 29, 1929-setting a record [16.4 million shares traded] that wasn't broken again until 1969. By the close of business on "Black Tuesday", nearly all stocks were worthless. On the 29th alone, the market lost more than $14 billion in value. The total for the week was more than $30 billion. By comparison, the $30 bil. was 10 times greater than the federal budget and far more than the US spent in all of World War I. Millionaires became paupers overnight; those who had invested their savings were left penniless !!! And this wasn't the worst, the DJIA finally reached it's lowest point on July 8, 1932 at 41.22. The Dow would not regain it's highest 1929 levels until 1954. With a republican [Herbert Hoover] in the White House at the start of The Great Depression, democrat FDR was "a shoo-in" for the presidency. Looking back seventy-five years to 1933, the phrase "New Deal" should have made the average adult "giddy" with anticipation !!! Remember, the country was deep in the grasp of The Great Depression; the unemployment rate for that year was 24.9% [13,000,000 people] !!! Actually, there are two sets of statistics-those previous which considered the total civilian population and the 'Darby' rate which considered WPA workers as employed. The 'Darby' rate for the same year was 20.6%...... not far behind !!! The phrase "New Deal" actually has a history that precedes FDR's use. FDR initially used the term in 1932 during his speech accepting the presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. FDR may have borrowed from the David Lloyd George who used the phrase: "A New Deal for Everyone" during his 1919 campaign for British Prime Minister. American reformers have used it as well, including Sen. Carl Shurz [Mo] in 1871, Woodrow Wilson during his NJ gubernatorial campaign in 1910 and Sen. Robert LaFollette [Wi] in 1912. FDR's New Deal involved three phases: 1. Confidence in the banking system had to be restored to end the panicked withdrawals at banks throughout the U.S. 2. Prices had to be stabilized to encourage businesses and farmers to resume production. 3. Provide federal assistance to those described as the one-third of the nation that was "ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished." Mr. Roosevelt got started practically as he sat down at his desk. FDR's inauguration was on March 4, 1933. On March 6, he proclaimed a "bank holiday" and called the Congress into special session. In the first 100 days of that session, Congress passed the President's program: the Emergency Banking Act, the Agricultural Adjustment Act and the Nation Industrial Recovery Act as well as the legislation creating the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Home Owners Loan Corporation and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. FDR also took the country off the gold standard to prevent a run on government reserves. Later New Deal laws created and/or funded the following: Public housing for workers Unemployment insurance Social Security pensions Welfare for needy families Framework for labor unions and workers' collective bargaining Public service jobs for the unemployed AMONG OTHERS !!! The New Deal program became nearly as defining a moment in American History as the Civil War. Never before had so much legislation and policy emanated from the federal government and in the process it became the center of political authority. Previously, crises governments had cut spending, balanced the budget, curtailed reform to provide the stability they thought necessary for economic recovery. The New Deal reversed that pattern to lift the country out of hard times and in so doing, altered social and economic policy forever. During the 1932 presidential campaign FDR had an advisory group later named the "Brain Trust". The members of his group were Columbia University professors Raymond Moley, Rexford Tugwell and Adolf Berle, Jr., among others. This group helped Mr Roosevelt formulate public policy solutions to the nation's social and economic problems. After the election they never met again as a group but were appointed to, and served, in various federal posts. Small gains were made during the early years of The New Deal. Between 1933-1935, the gross national product [GNP] had risen a paltry $16 billion; unemployment was reduced by only 3 million. As small as these gains were, they were nearly derailed by an ill-advised budgetary move. The 1937 recession seemed to prove that FDR's New Deal economic and social policies weren't working. The President had become cautious and cut government spending. He maintained a policy of "watchful waiting" until early in 1938 when he proposed a $3.75 billion relief bill. By the time FDR took action, the recession had already done it's damage; personal income had dropped by 12% and there were 4 million added to the unemployment rolls. Several things the President could have done to forestall or lessen the impact were not done. Increases in the federal gold reserves could have been used to relax credit restrictions and increase the money supply. FDR kowtowed to the bankers and financiers [who opposed any inflationary measures] and raised monetary reserve requirements which tightened credit. In early 1939 public opinion of the New Deal's effectiveness were 2 to 1 AGAINST !!! Most of the country believed that the economy was worse than at the start of The Great Depression. Some members of FDR's cabinet were the main detractors, principally Henry Morgenthau, the Secretary of the Treasury. Mr Morgenthau is quoted that May, saying "We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and now if I am wrong somebody else can have my job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises. I say after eight years of this administration, we have just as much unemployment as when we started. And enormous debt to boot." The Great Depression continued until the U.S. entered World War II. The massive spending required during the war years doubled the GNP. Businessmen redoubled their efforts for greater output as an expression of patriotism. Patriotism drove most people to voluntarily work overtime and forgo leisure activities to earn money after the devastating years at the start of the depression. Patriotism meant that people willingly accepted rationing and price controls for the first time. Cost-plus prices military contracts insured that businesses made a profit regardless of inefficiencies or poor labor. The post-war economy continued to thrive, driven by the needs of the returning soldiers and the needs of what would be labeled "The Baby-Boomers". The "Alphabet Soup [a PARTIAL list]:" 1. Reconstruction Finance Corp. [Large loans to big businesses] Ended in 1954. 2. Federal Emergency Relief Administration[FERA] Unskilled jobs as relief. Replaced by the WPA in 1935. 3. US "Bank Holiday." [1933] Closed ALL US banks until they were certified by Federal reviewers. 4. "Abandonment of Gold Standard." [1933] US currency no longer backed by gold reserves. 5. Civilian Conservation Corps. [1933] Young men performed unskilled labor in rural areas. 6. Tennessee Valley Authority. [1933] Generated electricity for rural areas in the Mid-south. 7. Agricultural Adjustment Act. [1933] Raised farm revenue by cutting total farm output, primarily crops and livestock. 8. National Recovery Act. [1933] Reduce unfair competition, raise prices and wages. 9. Public Works Administration. [1933] Built large public works projects using private contractors. 10. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. [1933] Insure deposits in banks to restore public confidence. 11. Securities Act of 1933. [1933] Created the SEC. Codified stock market standards. Risks to be accurately disclosed. 12. Civil Works Administration. [1933-34] Provided temporary jobs to millions of unemployed. 13. Indian Reorganization Act. [1934] Moved away from assimilation. 14. Social Security Act. [1935] Provided financial assistance to elderly, handicapped. First payout-1942. 15. Works Progress Administration. [1935] National labor program. 2 million jobs for the unemployed. Construction projects for men; Sewing projects for women; Arts projects for artists, musicians, writers. 16. National Labor Relations Act [Wagner Act]. [1935] NLRB[oard] to supervise labor-management relations. Modified by the Taft-Hartley Act [1947]. 17. Judicial Reorganization Bill. [1937] FDR's attempt to "pack" the US Supreme Court. Failed to pass Congress. 18. Fair Labor Standards Act [29 USC Ch 8]. [1938] Established the 40-hour work week as the norm. Established $0.40 per hour as the minimum wage. 19. Federal Surplus Relief Corp [1938] Farm loans. Commodity purchase and storage to maintain price levels. Later consolidated with Div of Marketing and Marketing Agreements into the Surplus Marketing Administration [1940]. Merged into the Agricultural Marketing Administration [1942]. Nest time, let's have a look at President Johnson's "Great Society" Til then......................