Wednesday, June 26, 2013

SCOTUS Strikes Again


Wow, a blockbuster week for SCOTUS. I guess Tony and his house”man” Clarence were thrilled to be leading the gang in gutting any notion of equal rights concerning voting in the US. It seemed pretty clear where Tony would head on this one, given his loud hoorays for vastly expanding the role of money in our elections (see Citizens United). There, Tony averred that corporations were people—I suppose they might now be classed as “perps”—and therefore the perps’ money could be used to corrupt the entire US election system. Way to go Tony.
But in gutting the Voting Rights law, they really went above and beyond the wildest hopes of the far right in this poor benighted land of ours.  Knowing that republicans at the state level are working 24-7 to devise ways to cast aside any and all people who might arguably vote Democratic, Tony basically gave them a carte blanche.  And living in this state of North Carolina, where the gubernator and his right wing gang are hard at work  corrupting everything still alive in the state, we can expect gerrymandering such as we have never seen, not to mention voter ID laws to confound any voters left standing.
But just when Tony was ready to pour the first glass of champagne for his house “man” Clarence, the Supremes did an about face and voted to kill off the so-called “Defense of Marriage” Act, that obscenity that Clinton should have but did not veto.  Tony of course dissented, but the Act was done, making it very difficult for the Feds to discriminate against Gays and Lesbians who wish to join in that state of  “holy matrimony”.  Poor Tony . . . waaah, waaah, says Tony.
Oh, and if anyone is interested in Texas politics ( a fairly disgusting subject I know), a grand summary of what Perry and his gang are up to can be found at”:

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Farm Tour

A Farm Tour.
We buy most of our food at two Farm markets: The Davidson Farmers Market, and the Piedmont Farmers Market in Concord, NC.  Partly, we buy our food there because, simply, it is fresher and we can look our farmers in the eye, when they tell us how the animals are raised or how the fruits and vegetables are grown. We like that. Partly also, we have now gotten to know the farmers from whom we buy, and that is a special treat for us. The farmers are incredibly hard working, unlike some in other industries . . . oh, say, banking springs to mind.
Once in a while we get to visit one of the farms and that is a very special treat. Recently, we visited Gilcrest farms and were given a tour by Amy Foster. Amy is now a friend, in addition to the person from whom we buy beef, poultry and eggs.  We drove out, so we could replenish our supply of beef for our grandson's dinner--sour meat (check out the recipe on our farm foodie blog). We were given a tour of their new barn, a grand place . . .

Next, Amy invited us into Cluckingham Palace, where the chicks are raised:




And finally, Amy introduced us to one of her proud guys, who sort of manages the place. All in all, we had a grand time.


Monday, June 10, 2013

Free Fire Zone of Florida


Listening to NPR radio reports and reading news accounts, growing daily, of the George Zimmerman murder trial may help to get us off the NSA Big Brother story. My only reaction to that latter story is to ask the question:
Who would you trust least with all this growing body of personal information—Microsoft, Apple, Google and Verizon, or the NSA?  I’ll tell you my answer is not the NSA.  All of these organizations have zero ethical principles, but my sense is that the profit motive produces far nastier outcomes than anything likely to emerge from NSA (not that they are pure of heart mind you).
But the Zimmerman trial may prove even more interesting and potentially more lasting in its effects. One of the things that occur to me  is that Trayvon Martin would have been within his rights, under the Stand Your Ground law, to shoot Mr. Zimmerman, since Zimmerman was in fact the aggressor. So it will be fascinating to see how that scenario is played out before the jury.
The other thing I keep thinking, however, is that the law itself declares Florida to be a Free Fire Zone. Anyone traveling to Florida has to be aware that they might be shot and killed by any of the heavily armed crazies who live there. Traveling there might be akin to traveling through Afghanistan.  It will be interesting to see what effect the law has eventually on Florida’s tourist industry.  Tourism in Florida . . . sort of like an ad that tries to sell the beauty of traveling through the Northwest Province in Pakistan, the crazy zone.
We’ll see, but if people are sensible, they will reconsider their travel plans and perhaps refuse to venture below Georgia.
TaTa Florida . . .