Linda Chavez has great articles and makes a lot of sense.
Posted By: MT and worn out on 2008-04-19
In Reply to: Tell me about - my fellow American....
This is long but I think worth it.
As if a housing crisis, rising energy costs and a soft labor market weren't enough to cause economic anxiety for the average American, now consumers are feeling the pinch of rapidly escalating food costs. The United States has long prided itself in being the breadbasket of the world, and Americans have traditionally paid a smaller share of their income on food than citizens of other developed countries. But the days of cheap milk, bread, beef and poultry may well be over — and Uncle Sam is partly to blame.
In 2007, the cost of a gallon of milk increased 26 percent; eggs went up 40 percent; and a loaf of white bread went from $1.05 to $1.28 from 2006 to 2008. Steep increases in the price of oil have contributed to these higher costs, but the federal government has played a pernicious role as well. By mandating that oil companies increase the amount of ethanol they blend with gasoline, the government has not only artificially increased the cost of corn, which is what most U.S. ethanol is made of, but has driven up the cost of other grains as well. Inflated corn prices encourage farmers to divert more acreage to corn, which means they plant less soy and wheat, which, in turn, drives the prices of those commodities up as well. The aggregate price of wheat, corn, soy oil and soy meal in the U.S. will be $61.7 billion higher in the 2007/2008 crop year than it was in 2005/2006.
Corn prices affect a host of other food prices as well. If you've ever looked at the ingredient labels on everything from bologna to canned tomato soup, you'll see that corn syrup is a common ingredient of many processed foods. Corn is also a common grain used in feed for cattle, poultry and hogs. As a result, prices for meat and poultry are going up, but even with higher prices, some companies in the meat industry still can't make a profit, and many are being forced to cut jobs and close plants. I've seen this firsthand as a member of the board of directors of Pilgrim's Pride, the nation's largest chicken producer, where we have already had to shut down one plant and close six distribution centers to cope with record losses directly attributable to soaring feed costs.
But what is most galling about the impact of government mandated ethanol production is that it does little or nothing to solve our energy problems.
Ethanol proponents argue that it is cleaner than petroleum — which improves air quality — and that it and other alternative fuels will reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Both claims are dubious.
Corn-based ethanol is inefficient as a fuel for automobiles, reducing vehicle gas mileage by 20-30 percent in vehicles using E85, the highest ethanol content fuel. Fewer miles-per-gallon of gas essentially eliminates any savings achieved, even by mixing ethanol with gasoline in the lower 9 percent ethanol blends required in all U.S. gasoline today. And of course, it also takes energy to produce ethanol — for farming and distilling the corn and transporting the final product to the pump — and much of that energy will come from carbon-based fuels.
None of these arguments has stopped the aggressive ethanol lobby from getting its way with Congress, however, and pressure increases in presidential election years as Iowa farmers encourage candidates to pledge allegiance to ethanol during the Iowa caucuses.
If ethanol really were the miracle fuel its proponents claim, you'd think there would be huge profits in producing it in the free market. But that's not the case. Consumers not only pay for ethanol at the pump, they're paying taxes as well to subsidize ethanol production in the U.S. — and they're paying a hidden tax to keep cheaper, foreign sugar cane ethanol from competing with the domestic corn-based product. Subsidies to gasoline blenders amount to about 51 cents per gallon, and the government imposes a 54-cent tariff on foreign ethanol so that it can't provide a cheaper alternative for U.S. consumers.
And matters will only get worse as government mandates higher bio-fuel content in U.S. gasoline from the current 9 percent to 15 percent by 2015. Ethanol won't solve the energy crisis, but it may well lead to a food crisis in the U.S. and elsewhere. The U.S. Agency for International Development reports that the cost of providing wheat, corn, cereal and other foodstuffs to poor nations has gone up 41 percent since October 2007, which will mean we can provide less assistance to starving people around the world. Federal policy is literally diverting food from the table to the gas tank — and it's time we stopped it.
Linda Chavez is the author of "An Unlikely Conservative: The Transformation of an Ex-Liberal." To find out more about Linda Chavez, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
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sorry. forgot to mention Linda Chavez is in refernce to threads about high food prices.
nm
it actually makes no sense
to sell a sound, healthy horse at auction for a fraction of the price that can be sold outright. If the horse is too slow to race ont the track they can and are used in other disciplines. Its hard to believe that practice is widespread. When a horse finds its way to auction there are other underlying reasons..
I don't like her, but this makes sense to me.
nm
thanks. that makes more sense anyway
just like it's redundant to have prayer request and Christianity.
Ya know, that makes no sense to me
There are bosses and I expect them to make more than me, my gosh, if not then I would have tried to be high on the totem pole- I care nothing about running a business, done that before, am just as happy as I want to be with the salary I make and concerns me not that people like Trump and others make more- they work a lot harder than I do or have in the past.
That makes sense (nm)
x
makes sense to me (sm)
I think I'm going to check around with some other dentists. Thanks for confirming my thoughts that they are overcharging. They seem to have a problem filing insurance in a timely manner as well and I've had issues with them over that in the past.
well that makes a little more sense
if she was selling the songs to other people. $1.9 million is a little steep just for downloading for personal use.
I agree. It only makes sense to me.....
Only in America do we spend all this money to figure out who to release a dead body to. Let's see.....a mother who hasn't had anything to do with her daughter for 20 years or.....an attorney who was living off the deceased for five years.....Lay her body at rest with her son. Figure out who the father is of the baby and let it be. One thing though, the judge is so comical, it's almost like watching a comedy movie. When he said "loose as a goose" yesterday, I thought I would die laughing so hard!!!
Your post makes the most sense in that
I had a little girl and when she first started taking, having heard my first name, she tried to call me the same. I would say, "to others I am so and so but to you I am mamma." Then when she called me by the first name I would ignore and then when Mamma I would acknowledge and answer. I told him exactly what you said. No he has not had a sex change but says hated his real name all his life, since his childhood and therefore the change. I told him he should have sent his own flowers, also but the deed was already done. I do not find it silly to want to be known by your name, though. I personally had to tell my father before when he would not acknowledge my remarrying (sending checks, etc. in the first name) that he would have to put new name on my mail or whatever. He also tried to do the same with me basically. Finally came around, though.
I'm not sure if that makes sense or just your wording doesn't.....
x
Men do tend to die younger, so it makes sense
to find a younger one. Mine is 4 years older, and he is aging faster because he hasn't taken care of himself. High school and college sports can take a heavy toll on a man.
True but they were estranged and it makes sense - sm
that AN would want to be with her child; not with the Smith family in TX because her mother (who she reportedly hated) wanted her in her home town (probably for appearance sake and one last jab to get her way with her own daughter, which is pretty pathetic). The mom has said that years ago she had said she wanted to be buried near MM in CA, so if that is the case why push to bury her in TX? (if she was really interested in doing what her daughter wished?) Kind of contradicts everything don't ya think? They say she is going to try to get her exumed and taken back to TX for reburial, which again I think is a horrible thing to do. Let her body be. I find it hard to believe the mom would be visiting the grave that often in TX. I really believe she is just doing it for (1) the publicity, (2) the appearance of doing what she believes others think a "mom" would do, (3) just to be one last thorn in her daughter's side. Because of all her grandstanding they could not even have an open casket since the body had decayed so much in all the legal wrangling crap. Total morons, all of them.
Your suggestion makes perfect sense to me...sm
If you had a backache and knew how your partner should massage your back to relieve the pain, you'd tell him what to do, wouldn't you? Perhaps we shouldn't expect partners to be mind readers!
what you say in your post makes sense,. I agree...
Don't doctors always emphasize HOW IMPORTANT the patient's attirude toward a treatment is?
The patient HAS TO BELIEVE in the success of the treatment, otherwise it will not work.
If the patient rejects a kind of treatment, IT IS NOT GOING TO WORK FOR HIM.
THE PATEIENT MUST HAVE A positive attitude and embrace the treatment.
You've got a great sense of humor!...sm
There must be some way to put parental control/lock on that computer so the kid can't access those tawdry sites. He's probably smarter than us and can hack into the pentagon's computer by now!  Cat
Omelets, DH makes great ones
x
there are some articles on
if anyone is interested. just search gas prices and Ike. from what i was reading with Ike making way for land tomorrow morning a lot of refineries have decided to close up and shut down and will re-open pending damages.
articles from The Beltway have said such...
I, too, have read things about this - and from Washington DC magazines....
I usually believe nothing of what I hear/read.....but it depends on the author, who is doing the writing, surmising, et cetera.
Seen articles saying the "average" American woman is now a size 14, but the butts
s
to linda
Happy to share. If you've ever had Hummingbird Cake, I have been told that this is a lot like that, without the spice (I think the spice would make it more like Carrot Cake, but not sure).
Pineapple Nut Cake
Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2 eggs
2 c. sugar
2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. drained crushed pineapple
1 c. chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla
Beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla 'til sugar is dissolved. Add flour, baking soda, and pineapple. Add nuts and pour into greased/floured 13 X 9 pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 8-oz package cream cheese (softened)
1 stick butter (softened)
1-1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Combine all ingredients and mix well.
Hope you try it and like it! This is another thing that I could live on for days.
They have been looking for Linda at my
house for the last 7 years. The funny thing, though, she is still using MY phone number for more current bills.
LOVE your pic Linda:-) no msg
To Linda: Please see message.
I try to look at it realistically. Cystic fibrosis is a pretty serious disease, one that usually attacks babies and young children. That's the tragedy. I'm 56 years old and didn't find out until I was 53. That's something I never heard of. The majority of my life has been good and healthy. One of my docs told me that first my pancreas will destroy itself, and then I'll become diabetic, (which is why I was so interested in what the poster down a little bit where she questioned about whether I might have diabetes. Once my pancreas is "gone," then my lungs will take over, and that's what will kill me. I haven't been coughing very much in the last 3 years, but now, for about 2 weeks, I can't stop coughing.
I feel ashamed to even be griping about this, considering those poor babies and young children who get this disease and die early.
Thank you very much for the compliment, but she isn't going to change. I'm waiting for this voucher program to go into effect (I've been accepted) so I can move out. I don't have a car, and I don't even have a phone. I have to depend on her to give me messages, and it's a 50%/50% chance whether I'll get those. I figure that I lost my apartment in PA, and as I got sicker, I lost my car and then my phone. So I'm trying like heck to get a phone. There's one that I like on Cricket; I've been watching it for a few months now, and the price sometimes goes down to $9.99. Unfortunately, this isn't one of those times! Maybe a couple of soup cans and a string??
I honestly don't know why my son-in-law stays with my daughter. She treats everyone badly. She even cheated on him a couple of years ago, so he is often guarded in his relationship with her.
My parents were very dysfunctional. My father especially was physically and verbally abusive. I remember taking my mom to the doctor's office to be scheduled for surgery because she had colon cancer.
When we got back to my parents' house, my father was lying on the couch, mean as usual, and told her, "You fat b***h, there's nothing wrong with you. You just want some attention." I looked at my mom, who didn't say a word -- just silent tears streaming down her face. Then I reamed him a new one.
A week later, she was dead.
My daughter knows nothing about my diseases because she's not interested in doing any research about it. If I come home from the doctor's and try to tell her what happened, she simply isn't interested in hearing it.
One one of my more serious hospitalizations (11 days), I had pneumonia and pancreatitis, she was especially nasty. She knew if I wasn't home working, I wasn't earning anything. So she called me and asked about when I would be paying the rent because if I don't, they'll get evicted, and it will all be my fault. Then she called later in the day, SCREAMING about my 15-year-old cat spraying all over the basement and making it stink and ordered me to get rid of it that day. I had no choice but to call the Humane Society, where I know nobody would adopt a 15-year-old cat. No doubt in my mind: That cat is dead. The best part is that the "stinking up the place" wasn't even my cat because it continued after she had me get rid of it. It was one of HER cats.
She reminds me of how my father treated my mother, and I need to get out of here ASAP because she's made it clear that I'm a burden and she wants me out. I try not to be a burden. I purchase and cook my own food (I'm not allowed to eat with the family, but I prefer it the way it is.)
Oh, sheesh! I've written a novel here and didn't mean to.
Thank you again, Linda, for th e kind words. I really appreciate them.
Fabric softener makes towels softer, yes, but it also makes them less absorbent. sm
Which is, after all, the function of a towel, absorbency. :-)
Sorry to hear of your loss, Linda. nm
x
saw Paul when Linda was still alive and with him
okay - I've done a lot of concerts!
This article supports Linda's idea:
http://www.zylstra.org/blog/archives/2007/04/katrina_foreign.html
Linda....nn wasn't watching - don't waste your time
Linda Lavin? - She played Alice in the TV show "Alice." sm
the one where she worked at Mel's diner?
No, probably not to someone with a sense of
x
A sociopath in every sense of
the word. I don't know how he can live with himself. Doesn't he have any remorse or guilt?
Okay, that does make more sense.
Thank you.
That would certainly make the most sense,
My sense of decorum.
Believe it or not, I used to be very civilized. No potty mouth, no lewd or lascivious behavior, and no leaving the bathroom door open when someone was in there for any reason whatsoever. Now my day isn't complete unless I get this sweet nothing whispered into my ear:
"Hey Kath, pull my finger."
I will try to talk sense to the ex
Tomorrow's my day off, and I will see if the ex is receptive to reason. We have real problems communicating about most any issue, his general attitude is "don't you dare try to tell ME what to do, biatch!". It is the policy of his household to have all calls put on speakerphone and let anybody in his household at the time I call horn in on what I wish could be private phone conversations with my son. I have repeatedly complained to the court about this practice, the court has ordered him to keep the speaker phone off when I call, but he ignores it, and even if I go to the trouble of recording/submitting every conversation to the court, they aren't going to do anything about it.
He is deeply involved with people (who I knew very well back when) that are paranoid hypochondriacs who have abused antibiotics to the point that no antibiotics work for them any more. Since he mentioned their name when he barged into the last phone conversation, I am assuming they have his ear and have influenced him into this overreaction. Since I disagree with his actions he is likely to become hostile and tell me to shove off, but I guess I'll try and see if there's any hope of making him see reason. I suppose it'll all be about timing - if there's a houseful of ne'er do wells shouting comments when I call tomorrow, I'll know whether to try or not.
Common sense
I remember in 9th grade, back in the 1970s, we had to give a speech for English in front of the whole class. Mine was on first aid. I demonstrated several pretend procedures on a volunteer. Then my volunteer was suffering from a snake bite, so I was demonstrating the technique that was in vogue at the time, where a knife was used to cute the puncture wounds and so the poison could be sucked out. I pulled out my demonstration knife and my teacher suddenly came on camera to examine my knife. Not being a dummy, I had made a cardboard knife, colored the handle part black, and covered the blade in tin foil. In the back side I had taped a fine-tipped red pen. It looked real on camera as long as you held it the right way. That teacher didn't like me, and he spent a good 30 seconds examining the weapon, during my taped presentation, before he was satisfied he could not get me in trouble for it.
No, I was no dummy.
Does not make sense to me
That is really very strange. Have they been trying for awhile? MAYBE...is it possible that she had been to the doctor, and he heard results over the phone before she did? Maybe HE has not told HER yet that she is expecting? Stranger things have happened, I guess. I agree it is very strange behavior. I sure hope all works out well and it is not what you are thinking, that he's hurt you on purpose.
What he needs is some parents with some sense (sm)
I feel sorry for you as his neighbor and sorry for him that his parents have raised him to be this way. They shouldn't talk to him that way. If the people who are supposed to love you more than anyone on Earth treat you like that, then how would you possibly learn to treat other people with decency and respect? If anything actually needs to happen, it is that DSS needs to be called and told how the parents talk to their child. He doesn't need military school...he needs to be treated like a human being, then maybe he can act like one...if it is not too late. You should report this to DSS. I am usually the last one who would say that because I think children are almost better off with their parents, messy house or whatever, but in this case, this child needs help.
this does not make any sense to me
I am not getting this at all. If my son gained 100 pounds and my husband made him do chores all day, I would think that my husband was trying to be a father to my overweight son. When my husband fixes the car, he comes in the house, grabs my butt and wants to make out. If I went and told anybody else that he did these things he would be MORTIFIED!
Maybe that is abuse and maybe it is not. The point is that the original poster thinks it is abusive. She feels like she is living with someone she is afraid of.
Consulting other people that know her husband may not be the safest way for her to handle it. It doesn't matter what other people think. I stand by what I posted before. Leave or don't leave, but I would not try to get a consensus.
now you are making sense! sm
I am not being mean, just trying to get you to think! Now you will have to call a domestic abuse person in your state or an attorney and ask what you have to do. BUT if you truly are scared, you can go to a "safe house" tell them your story and I guarantee they will help you. Explain what you have said that you thought you hd waited too long. Also tell them what the cop told you years before. They hve heard it all. I am just trying to get you to leave before its too late. Sometimes it takes a rough push but you CAN do it and do well. Don't ever get it in your head there are no options. There are always options nad always hope as long as there is breath and life!
Use some common sense
Just as women have things they are uncomfortable with, weight, breasts, etc...men don't want an ugly uncircumsized penis, so get over it and do your boy a favor. Not to mention all the health reasons. Sheesh! My son or husband hardly remember the little skin at the top of their penis being taken off. Give me a break!
ok he sounds like he has a sense of humor..LOL.
and now I want to tell you there is an organization called messies.com (I think) - I heard about it five years ago and there is also messies anonymous which is alot like the 12-step program that I heard about.
You can Google the issue - *companies that help messy people get organized*
That's my only suggestion because maybe he's NOT a passive- aggressive and I merely assumed that (?) - If I did, I'm sorry, didn't mean to offend....however, I am not convinced as yet that I did make an error.
Not offended, just thinking with some sense
She is emotional because of what has happened. Legally, you cannot obtain someone elses records - I told her to contact lawyer because this is not a good thing to tell. It is not legal period. She can try to protect but you cannot take the laws into your own hands, well you can but then you might be put in jail. I am just telling her the facts like they are. She can insist on him having testing but again she CANNOT make him do it. Not her call.
I'm not going to judge you. I've been there in the sense that sm
I had to be the other woman telling the other man to "get over me, I'm married." I would say you definitely sparked an interest in his life and it's probably been "fun" for him to know that he still "has what it takes." ALL men want to be someone's hero and you were/are his cheerleader - if he's been married for any length of time and he's getting to intimate in conversation with you then I can guarantee that she's probably no longer his cheerleader. Men need that. I know exactly what happened between you two as it happens every single day.
Sometimes the men (and women) who meet other people (whether at work, on line, etc) will go even further than this man has gone and will meet up with you, sleep with you and try to carry on a relationship with you for as long as they can get away with it. It is wrong and dangerous. I believe you do have very strong feelings for him.
The reality is this: He is married. Happily? Who knows. It's still wrong. You must, and I repeat, must pick up your dignity, look at your beautiful face in the mirror and say, "There is an available man out there who would love to love me! Lord, help me find him. I deserve it!" And you do. We all do.
Morally, ethically, anyway you look at this, it is wrong. Even if he were to leave his wife for you, you would be considered an adulter in the eyes of God for stealing another man's wife. You are NOT AN ADULTERER. You are a beautiful woman who deserves her own man.
Good luck to you. Do the right thing. As painful as it will be, you will be blessed if you let him go. He can't be had right now.
I know - sick sense of humor but...
Movie I laughed out loud to most recently was Hostel. Way creepy movie/plot but still just couldn't stop myself when that girl's eyeball was bouncing off her cheek.
Definitely - Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Road to Wellsville, O Brother, Shrek
Does this sentence make sense?
I'm trying to write a letter. what i want to say is that more time is needed in the basic classes at school and special classes such as (music, art) should not take priority or cut into the core classes.
This is my sentence
There is lack of adequate class time is the core classes such as math, language arts, and science. Specials are great to have but specials do not dominate academia.
Does that make sense to anyone but me?
You made perfect sense -- it only went to him
Unless you put her name on the CC of the new email or hit reply to all, it only went to him. Whew - you can breathe easy again!
at least you've still got a sense of humor
Good luck. 
And I would hope adults have more sense than that,
99 out of 100 is unbelievable to me. I find his statement ridiculous for people who are considered grown.
Most common sense folks on here would know that
some get all riled up when you start talking about moochers! Now, this lady is a plain out and out moocher. She now has 14 mooching babies, of course, through no fault of their own but their mother's greedy selfish ignorance.
I tried to have a rational discussion about moochers on welfare ther other day and for the life of me couldn't get one poster to get her mind wrapped around the fact that there are truly JUST moochers out there, who do not work, do not contribute to societ; they just take,take, take, and do nothing productive. She thought I knew nothing and that welfare was ONLY for those TRULY in need. This is exactly what I was talking about. I see it every day in my community, the baby making factories who refuse to work, sit on their butts, and have more babies, all paid for by the taxpayer. This is a perfect example.....same situation only she had 8 at one time instead of one by one until she finally got to 14.
Maybe the poster will get a picture of what moochers I was talking about and stop acting as if she were being targeted.
Since this lady is on disability, all her 14 children will also receive a monthly disability check. Now, multiply that times ALL the illegal babies here with all their illegal parents also getting assistance and you wonder why this country is going down the tubes and why California is going belly up?
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