Talking With A Teenager...

*may contain swear words*

Watched the news tonight with our teenage step-nephew and talked about politics.

Man, can kids fucking talk...

We were watching CNN, so he was "forced" to watch it with us. Granted, we know CNN might not be the greatest,  but it's better than local news, it's better than MSNBC, and it's fucking hand over fist 100% better than Fox.

We talked to him a bit about the important of this election, from our personal perspective. We also made sure to tell him everything we said carried a bias (we hope he knows what bias means, now that we think about it)...and then explained why we had a bias.

We said because his mother has a pre-existing medical conditions that is draining Angry Brother's (our brother, his step-dad) wallet, and doesn't have insurance for her...without getting into too much detail with readers...that the benefits of Affordable Healthcare are clear for those like her who have pre-existing conditions.

We also told him our "bias" lays in our own pre-existing conditions (severe back problems) and desire to have affordable healthcare in the future, and the fact that we are female means it's important to us that other women can retain their reproductive choices. (we are pro-choice, though abortion would never be a choice for us, but a talk about abortion has it's time and place, and this was not one of those times)

We told him that the things that are happening in the world, as we watched a report on Syria, are important, and foreign policy is important; but to us things that will effect Americans (like women, and the poor...we didn't mention gays to him) directly and immediately are what is most important to us.

We're not going to pretend how we feel about the election is the end-all to the issue, we can only explain why we support who we support.

Later he talked to us about a rumour on Facebook and in school that Bill Nye, a scientist and educator, best known as 'Bill Nye The Science Guy' on Disney/PBS in the late 90's, had died (good to know "death-hoaxes" are not limited to the ignorant on Twitter). We laughed, told him that Bill Nye hadn't died, and made sure to tell him, as we did when we talked to him about the upcoming election, that it's important to look at the facts and information, to look into things that seem questionable or that you question, and then figure it out based on that.

He may not be our child, but he is a child going into an uncertain future, and above all it's important that they are encouraged to be inquisitive, and not afraid to think about things...

...but DAMN, can kids fucking talk and be distracting. And we didn't pay enough attention to him as we should have...

Glad we're not going to have any.

From Lab To Field, And On Your Knees

We don't write about food safety, security, policy, or the environment too often, the last time we wrote seriously about it was a piece on High Fructose Corn Syrup (Fundamentally Unsafe: High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) http://just-call-me-frank.blogspot.com/2010/05/fundamentally-unsafe-high-fructose-corn.html) that I had imported from an older blog two years ago, way back before...well, a load of life changing stuff...

Despite food safety and security being the major factor in our most recent purchase (still need to put the ink on the paper though!) of a 40 acre homestead-farm where we plan to grow as much of our own food as we can, both plant and animal; there's just usually so much other stuff to write about, other stuff that inspires us on days when it's not our pain, or mental health, to be able to write about just one topic.

It's stories like Plowing Away The Prairie, At A Price that make us sad, upset, fearful for the future of the America, and the people who live in it; but it's not just those feelings, it's stories like Plowing Away The Praire that raise questions, draw intersecting lines, create a furrowed brow, and inspire today's blog entry. Questions like how do we feel about the federal government subsidizing crop insurance to farmers so they can be encouraged to grow GMO corn and/or soybeans in an environment that is not suited for in the first place, and making big payouts, like they will have to this year in the face of the horrible drought, and who is behind it; and with so much talk about government hand-ups and hand-outs, who gets to decide between the people who "deserve it" and the people who don't.

If you're not familiar with GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) [Seed] you probably should be. Genetically modified organisms are laboratory engineered seeds and plants (so far the FDA has not approved animal GMOs) created by splicing genes from other organism to "improve" things like shelf-life and pest-resistance. In the United States over 85% of the corn and 91% of the soybeans (1) grown are from GMO seed, with ownership of the seed by one giant corporation called Monsanto, who owns the patents to it, and that so far in 2012 has contributed 71% of it's companies election funding to the Republicans (29% to Democrats).(1)

"These days Faulstich is telling his story in Washington, D.C. This year or next, Congress is expected to take up a new farm bill that could determine the fate of his way of life and, perhaps, the Midwestern prairie." 

"If we need more corn and it's a level playing field, that's the way it is," he said. "But if there are incentives to make this happen - that's a disaster in the making [says Faulstich]" Plowing Away The Prairie, At A Price

It's hard to say what Washington would do with a farm bill, it's hard to say if the average American even cares, or understands the under-working of the government in the first place. It all depends on who dominates the House and Senate, but you can bet that big campaign funding by the likes of Monsanto can grease some very greedy palms (2).

Reading Plowing Away The Prairie paints with words an accurate and unfortunate picture of the environmental effects of tearing up the prairie for profit; and makes it obvious there are those less concerned about the future of the earth, and the devastating toll already visible and measurable, that are created by ripping it up and plowing it all under, in lei of profit.

"The 10,000-year-old native prairie that once stretched from Saskatchewan to the Gulf of Mexico has become one of the most threatened ecosystems on Earth -- more so even than the world's tropical rain forests, ecologists say. In Minnesota and elsewhere, only about 1 percent of the original prairie now lies untouched, and every year across the Great Plains millions more acres of grasslands are turned into corn, soybeans and other crops." Plowing Away The Prairie, At A Price

But it's not just about the environment, or the greasing of the wheel to make the rats run on it until we all die of cancer (3), it's also about another big company owning our government and livelihoods. We're not even mentioning the health issues surrounding GMO foods, foods which have been on the market since 1994, when the "The Fish Tomato" FLAVR SAVR [CGN-89564-2](4) tomato made it's debut, whose plant genetics were "modified by incorporating a synthetic antifreeze gene modeled from one isolated from the winter flounder, Pseudopluronectus americanus".(5)

No, the first issue is the danger of a single company owning the rights to massive amounts of seed, and the potential for them to own it all one day by pushing natural "heirloom", or heritage, varieties out of the market with force, which they have already started doing; you need only look at how much GMO seed is used in agricultural crops. If a single company owns all the corn and soybeans they can literally have the people at their knees, which is what they have already done in poor countries around the world. Take India, for example, where a GMO-related suicide epidemic has been perpetuated over the last 16 years.(6)

The claims that Monsanto makes about the yield of their seed, which is one of the more desirable reasons for signing on with their product, is likely debatable, and depends on environmental factors, like the right kind of weather, just for a start. It's also debatable how good the Roundup Ready® weed and insect-resistant seed actually works in relation to pests, specifically when it has created an evolution of newer stronger pests that are resistant...to the resistance. Roundup®, an herbicide used on crops dates back as far as 1974, and hasn't done enough to keep the insects and other pests from evolving. They just keep mutating and getting stronger.

Used over years herbicides and pesticide create, and have created, bigger and stronger pests as insects and bugs adapt themselves through natural modification, the way nature intended - but at a rate much higher because "nature" now demands it(7). Survival of the fittest insect. Take the development of the Superworm in the corn belt of the Midwest of The United States(8) for example, which means Monsanto will now have to create, and sell to the Roundup Ready® seed buyer (because they are not allowed to use anything else), newer stronger chemicals for defence of your crops. It hardly seems worth it.

To break it down and illustrate the problem/issue even further; using a GMO patented seed is like buying a modified seedless watermelon. You can eat the watermelon, like you harvest a crop. But without seeds you can't reproduce the watermelon.
Or lets put it a different way.
You want a baby (A Corn Plant). A cute cuddly squirmy thing to raise and make your minion, but you are infertile (No Seeds). So every time you want to make a baby, you have to outsource to an adoption company (Monsanto); and each baby you adopt is also sterile (No Seeds) - so they will also have to adopt (from Monsanto) to have babies of their own (More Corn Plants). And the cycle continues.
It might be a rudimentary example. Either way, you are the slave to provider, and you have no freedom of your own, and it's not how nature intended it.

Image Source

When it comes to corn and soybean seed, not to mention all the other countless crops they are now owning, like alfalfa, canola, cotton, sorgum, soybeans, sugar beets and wheat(9), with the future crops of rice, papaya, eggplant, squash, peppers, potatoes and wheat set to be commercialized in the next few years(10); and oh, yeah, they bought Seminis this year, the world's largest developer, grower and marketer of vegetable seeds, which has been met with outrage...and very little media coverage.(11)

Back to the crime scene then.

When buy from Monsanto you sign away your rights to reproduce your food and the food for everybody else, forcing you to buy seeds from them every year; if your plants get sick, you can only buy medicine from them; If they inspect your field and find you are in breech of the agreement they can file a lawsuit against you, and they can even file expensive lawsuits(12), like in the case of Monsanto Canada Inc v Schmeiser(13) if even the seed is blown on your property from neighbouring fields, because they want their cut.

Plowing Away The Prairie, At A Price, was really good a read overall, simple, yet absolutely inspiring some might say...if you're an American who cares about food prices, food security, health, safety, freedom. If you are concerned about a beautiful country whose fruited plains are going to be government subsidized GMO corn and soy beans, and pavement...do something. Even if means writing about it and helping people find out about it.

"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

The point is, people aren't given the freedom of choice with their food; money and greed are destorying this country, and the 47% aren't the victims, we are all the victims. And it's killing us, it's killing the planet, it's another thing killing the hope. But by speaking up, you can help make changes, you can take responsibility for your life and environment...because, like one the authors from one of our favourite books says...

“That is the paradox of the epidemic: that in order to create one contagious movement, you often have to create many small movements first.”
~ Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

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Sources and Citation:

Plowing Away The Prairie, At A Price, Josephine Marcotty, Star Tribune, September 23, 2012 http://www.startribune.com/local/170850241.html?page=1&c=y&refer=y

Genetically Engineered Crops, The Center For Food Safety, 2012 http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/campaign/genetically-engineered-food/crops/

(1) Influence of Lobbying PAC data for Monsanto Company Summary, OpenSecrets.org Center for Responsive Politics, September 2012, http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00042069

(2) Congress OKs GMOs, Monsanto Makes Sure You Can Grow Them at Home, Krista Simmons, liast.com, June 22, 2012 http://laist.com/2012/06/22/congress_says_gmos_are_ok_allows_fo.php

(3)  Is Monsanto Evil? TYT Networks, September 22, 2012, Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7DqaJ3QgHU&feature=share



(4) The Case of the FLAVR SAVR Tomato, G. Bruening, J.M. Lyons, California Agriculture 54(4):6-7. DOI: 10.3733/ca.v054n04p6. July-August 2000 http://ucanr.org/repository/CAO/landingpage.cfm?article=ca.v054n04p6&fulltext=yes

(5) Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact, James W Glosse, Information Systems For Biotechnology, 1991, PDF http://www.isb.vt.edu/documents/ea/9107901r.ea.pdf

(6) 'Bitter Seeds' Documentary Reveals Tragic Toll of GMOs in India, Claire Thompson, International Union of Conservation of Nature, August 16, 2012 http://www.iucn.org/about/union/commissions/ceesp/?10708/Bitter-Seeds-documentary-reveals-tragic-toll-of-GMOs-in-India

(7) Approval of New Chemical-Resistant GMOs Likely to Prompt Pesticide Escalation, Jill Richardson, Center for Media and Democracy, August 28, 2012 http://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/08/11727/approval-new-chemical-resistant-gmos-likely-prompt-pesticide-escalation

(8) How Genetically Modified Corn Is Creating Super Worms, Aviva Shen, September 5, 2012 http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/09/05/796781/genetically-modified-corn-gives-rise-to-superworms-as-agribusiness-lobbies-against-gmo-labeling/

(9) Agricultural Seed Products, Monsanto, 2012 http://www.monsanto.com/products/Pages/monsanto-agricultural-seeds.aspx

(10) GM Food Production Increasing, Rich Keller, AG Professional, September 12, 2012 http://www.agprofessional.com/agprofessional-magazine/GM-food-production-increasing-169514076.html?ref=076

(11) Occupy Monsanto Stops GMO Seed Distribution, Occupy Monsanto, The Sacramento Bee, September 12, 2012 http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/12/4814249/occupy-monsanto-stops-gmo-seed.html

(12) Small Farmers Fight Becomes Anti-Biotech Crusade, Paul Elias, Associated Press/USAToday, January 19, 2004 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-01-19-schmeiser_x.htm

(13) Monsanto Canada Inc v Schmeiser, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto_Canada_Inc._v._Schmeiser and Canadian Federal Court http://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/en/2001/2001fct256/2001fct256.html

We Buy The Farm

Finally! Finally the property seller has met us with an offer we can accept.

A tennis game of volleying offers and counter offers back and forth, and in the end they suddenly dropped their end by 6x's the increment they had been dropping it by, to an amount $2000 less than the offer we gave them two months ago.

So far it all looks good, with a closing date in a month. Luckily we're still packed from the last move, so getting ready to move will be more of a mental preparation as we prepare for the possibility of days without electric, running water and heat as we start renovations. (we don't know if the well works, but it needs to be replaced. The electrical is terrible, a hazard, so it needs to be replaced and the house needs to be insulated so that when we get the gas tank for the heat we don't end up wasting it... among other big things that need to be done fast before snow flies).
We'll be having several inspections done in the next 10-15 days, just for peace of mind, to make sure the situation isn't any worse than we figure (not sure how it could be *knocks on wooden coffee table*). We can always back out based on an inspection, but why would we? We've been waiting for this property since mid-June.

A distressed house in the peaceful country on 40 acres that have been vacant for about 2 years just became our next home. This will be an adventure.

Holy fuck.

We just bought the farm.

(Pictures can be found here: http://frankiesfarmadventure.blogspot.com/2012/09/three-months-laterthe-end-is-near.html)

Us, on Facebook

And you thought sticking with us on Twitter was tough.

With an unlimited amount of character spaces to work with we sometimes go on diatribes on Facebook.

In addition we share beautiful images, and memes; keep up on art and photography; read and comment on the news; make strange jokes; share and talk with people who are our friends; go irate over food security; roll our eyes and take deep breaths over the staunch patriotism of people to the point of being blind to the anti-freedom spew they unknowingly (and sometimes knowingly) unleash while metaphorically holding a bible in one hand, and the flag in the other; cute kittens (sometimes) and funny videos; take part foreign policy and political commentary and opinion; keep abreast of mental health policies. And so much more.

Admittedly in a non-election year we tend to be a little less...politically aggressive, but it's been instrumental in our further education and learning about how the government works, and it's interesting to see what other people think.

We also use Facebook as a way to both share our opinions publicly while addressing family members (and sometimes to other people), commenting on things they write/share; since we won't "like" or comment directly to their status/posts...yet. Mostly because doing so would draw the attention of extended family who would recognize our photo...who would be very confused, perhaps angry, perhaps intolerant, over things they read both on our Facebook page, and here on this blog, particularly family history of sensitive nature. It's a way to communicate with them, and also get our friends involved in range of discussions. (and because phones...ICK!)

So, if you thought sometimes we're mouthy irritating smartasses on Twitter...it could be worse. (maybe you don't "follow" us in either places, in which case LUCKY YOU!)

We'll be honest, this blog post is basically for keeping track of some of the things we want to use for later writing, as well as "phoning it in"...because we had some canning to do and errands to run today.

But here's a Facebook taste:

"If we'd been born in this age in the 60's we'd have been a giant people and peace loving hippie, with an extensive arrest record...instead we are this, here, and we do what we can, and we follow our passion, and we speak from our heart, because while the way we grew up shaped us, THE WAY WE GREW UP shaped us.

Our family was on public assistance in the 80's, WIC, a federally funded program, mom grew the garden, raised animals to eat, to take care of 3 growing children...dad worked a factory job to pay the rest of the bills. They barely scarped by. We wore hand-me-down clothing, even underwear, and our Christmas gifts were purchased from summer garage sales with "Santa" written on them. Brothers and us gave each other newspaper wrapped gift, our own toys, given to each other. We had very little, and we never asked for much, and it has helped us, to this day, not expect much.

So, damn right we will support our roots, and the people are still rooted there, who struggle, because even with very little bills, mom and dad couldn't afford to buy us new clothes, or new toys.
We were taught compassion, while getting none.
We were taught love, while getting very little.
We may not all (within us) agree, but one thing that is the thread in all of us, is that a good person is not defined by how much money they make, by who they love, by their belongings, and ability to have a house full of things. A good person is defined by love, loving good people for who they are, having compassion for people who struggle, and helping when they can.

Yes, there are people who abuse the system, just like anything there are people who abuse. They abuse children, gun rights, freedom, they abuse religion, and people...that doesn't mean it is the status quo.

You can damn bet we will expand on this tomorrow, in another blog post...where we will still stand up, proudly, for the political party that more accurately portrays the beliefs we have. Because if it wasn't for people like us, before us, "Lord" know's where we would be today."

(NOTE: written September 6th, we have yet to expand on it, but...when we went to sleep in the winter we wore a hat and snow suit to stay warm. Glasses of water next to our bed froze in the middle of the night because of high heat costs and wood stove heating in an old house, as did the shampoo in the bathroom.

We were at the bottom of what would not be called the 47%. We are proud of our "poor roots", they were part of what made us who we are. Dad worked hard to give us what he could.
Victim?
Fucking never...but we'd still never expect other people to live the way we did, nor would be expect them to)

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"The way America has been taught to be consumers, it could never sustain an economy of primarily "Made-in-America" prices at this point. If you think otherwise, you don't understand consumer culture, nor do you understand what the impact of narrow competition, and lack of free-trade, has on prices of products. Economics. Free-trade, competition, and low-prices were the life-blood of the foundation of Capitalism.
In the end the average low-paid Americans cannot afford to buy it's countries own poorly made products."

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"It's not "our generation: that is the problem, it's the inability to be loving and accepting - it's the self-righteousness and wide-spread ignorance of people.
"Our generation" has brought acceptance and tolerance, tries to promote it, wants it to exist.

It's the older generation, unable to deal with the younger generation's ability to accept people who are different...that is the problem.
It's 
the struggle between the two, right now, that is the problem.
You can see it in the political campaigns, as well as everywhere else.

And as much as "The Good Old Days" may hold a lot of tug to our heart, as an independent woman who understands the progress that has been made for equal rights to many different types of people...minorities, women, gays, etc...the good old days...were really just the old days.

No disrespect."

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Oh, and this wicked picture:

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"The world is fucking mad.

It doesn't come down to men loving men, woman loving woman, females making reproductive choices, equality and freedom as the source of madness.

The destruction of the world is greed, power, and those with it trying to make the people without do their bidding to further line their pocket, while propping up thier platform with so-called "Christian values".

"My" having pr
emarital sex with men, having been sexually in love with another woman, supporting women who don't want to become a "drain on society" by making responsible reproductive choices, supporting people who have had life kick them in the ass at the hands of the rich, and caring about the less fortunate...or, as you might say "my loose morals", are NOT what are making the world a mad place.

It's money, and power.

Really really think about it."

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"Over on Google+ people are all in huff because How Dare They Use Beef Bones to Make Gelatin For Gummies?!
Over here we're all...yeah, don't you learn about what you put in your mouth. What did you think gummie bears were made of, fucking magic?

Also, gelatin NATURAL. Idiots all up in arms.
YOU SHOULD BE PISSED OFF ABOUT THE CHEMICALS IN YOUR FOOD."

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"...learning is fun...

"We're a 1956 Republican,
OR,
as it's known today,
a 2012 Democrat (wit some Liberal/Green leanings)
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/09/14/republicans-past-present-future/"

  ----------

"So, the chair of the house budget committee for Republican VP, hey?
Because he's done such a great job helping managing the money the last two years, he should be VP and have more responsibility.

What the Fuck, people.
What. The. Fuck.

The Republicans must be counting on people not understanding anything about how the government actually works.

There will be further fleeceing of the herd, and the sheep will stand around bleeting in astonishment, naked and shivering;
While others claim to foresee the end of times with the taste of self-fulfilling prophecy tumbling from their mouths, and others barely restrain, through pallid lips, crimson tongue behind clenched teeth, of foretold warnings."

Oh, and these tasty toes:

Source:  http://www.incrediblethings.com/food/would-not-eat-grody-toe-cookies/

So, see...we have some hardcore awesome tolerant friends, and some really loving family members on Facebook...

Go ahead, roll your eyes...we don't care, because it only makes you look crazy.

Panic At The Disco: Anxiety

Until today it had been awhile since I remember us having an anxiety, or panic, attack.
It's worse when it's provoked by something unidentifiable.

Blood rushing in our ears, heart feels like it's racing, can barely breath, feeling panicky. Like we we're running. But we were just standing/sitting in one place.
And all we were doing was opening the refrigerator.

Obviously we can pinpoint some potential causes.

Having to move in a few weeks, with nowhere to move to (yet); being on the cusp of investing our life savings into a fixer-up property in the country (hopefully); recent significantly increased pain and trouble sleeping; we expected to be out of The Mother's house by now. We've been here nearly a year (give or take four months in England, and over one month on a roadtrip in the USA) and we're starting to feel unwelcome; then there's the world in general...(it's a madhouse)

I wasn't thinking about any of those things at the time though. (Maybe one of us was?) Just opening the fridge, looking for a snack.

I have very little understanding of general anxiety, even though we were diagnosed with the social anxiety form way back so far in the past it's amazing we're still breathing, (our social anxiety attacks feel different than the general panic/anxiety attack from today) and I have never really understood the sources (other than being in public places on the "wrong" day) of the various bouts of anxiety we experience (though we can identify which of us suffers the worst. Catherine (me) is the worst with social anxiety). But there I was...holding my chest, gripping the handle of the fridge...telling James breathlessly that I feel like I'm having a heart-attack or something.

So I sat down on the sofa. Posted about it to friends on Facebook where we got great advice from some kind people there, breathing, hugging ourselves, laying down. In the end we just slowly breathed, and stopped focusing on the feeling and it disappeared...but for those 15-20 minutes I wanted to lay on the floor and cry helplessly.

It's rather surprising we don't get those more often (maybe we do and I am not aware), but we have always had textbook perfect-to-low blood pressure and heart rate (what heart), which probably, maybe, helps somehow in the end.

Just another day. What's for dinner.

~ Catherine, F, et al