Enemy of the People??

News media sources are not the enemy of the people. Main stream news organizations do indeed have political leanings (FOX News, CNN etc) but for the most part they try to present the news factually. But like anyone, you and I included, they form their stories in a format that best conveys their interpretation of the event for their audience, and conveniently NOT report certain aspects of the story that may not be favorable to the tone of the story. It's all about ratings and revenues. They are in the business for profit. You, as the reader or consumer of their content must weigh the validity of their story and decide for yourself if you believe them or not.

 This is why, IMO, it's best to view numerous sources to get a more complete picture. Form your own opinion, talk to your friends, neighbors, family, social media "friends" and listen to their point of view. Don't accuse...... listen. Try to be respectful in your response, don't SHOUT over them. Deescalate, not escalate the conversation. Be thoughtful.

  How hard can that be? And you may just learn something!

DACA - my thoughts

I try to stay neutral when it comes to politics and FB but here is another fine example of "fake news", well, maybe not fake but at least altered to suit the narrative.

Some US state attorney generals are of course, suing the President over his decision on DACA. And I quote: "they alleged Mr. Trump’s shift was driven by racial animus toward Mexican Americans and that the Trump administration failed to follow federal rules governing executive policy making.”
I point out that the DACA participants are not Mexican/American. They are not natural citizens i.e.: being born here or naturalized by citizenship.

 I could have been taken to France as a child, been raised there to adulthood but never be considered a French citizen. I would always be an American citizen living in a foreign land and have to follow the laws of the "host" country. One must go through that countries steps to become a citizen if that is even allowed in said country. And if France told me I have to go back to the U.S., then that's the way it would have to be. No amount of crying or protesting would change the outcome.

Nor are all the DACA folks even Mexican born, some are from other countries. President Obama did state that this executive order was not amnesty or a path to citizenship and was a temporary fix as he could not convince Congress to create a law on these kids, so he did a run around and signed the executive order which can be annulled by any future President and was.
 So, Trump punted it back to Congress. Can they create a law to offer these young people a path to citizenship? Is that fair to the waiting lists of aliens who have been waiting months and years to enter the U.S. legally? Who knows, only time will tell. It's an ugly mess but lets be clear... this was created by Obama and Trump is left with having to try and fix the problem.
 Unfortunately, its real people stuck in the middle with little to no recourse on how their future in the USA will turn out. Illegal immigrants do not have rights under the laws of USA and unfortunately neither do their children. But this is a humanitarian and ethical issue. How can we send back to unstable and unsafe countries these people who have lived here most of their lives? I don't have the answer and neither does the President. Let's see what Congress can come up with.

LABOR DAY MUSING

Labor Day in the United States is a public holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It honors the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws and well-being of the country. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day

However, Labor Day was the final result of many movements involving workers and management. I refer to the Haymarket Affair in 1886. Basically the workers organized into labor unions and forced the adaptation of the 8 hour work day. Up until the movement, most workers, mainly immigrant labor force worked typically 60 hours, six days a week.

Without the uprising of America's workers some 130 years ago, imagine where we might be today. Think of all the sacrifices our forefathers made, both in blood and protesting peacefully.

From wiki: No single event has influenced the history of labor in Illinois, the United States, and even the world, more than the Chicago Haymarket Affair. It began with a rally on May 4, 1886, but the consequences are still being felt today. Although the rally is included in American history textbooks, very few present the event accurately or point out its significance," according to labor studies professor William J. Adelman.

Following the Civil War, particularly following the Depression of 1873–79, there was a rapid expansion of industrial production in the United States. Chicago was a major industrial center and tens of thousands of German and Bohemian immigrants were employed at about $1.50 a day. American workers worked on average slightly over 60 hours, during a six-day work week.^[12]The city became a center for many attempts to organize labor's demands for better working conditions.^[13]Employers responded with anti-union measures, such as firing and blacklisting union members, locking out workers, recruiting strikebreakers; employing spies, thugs, and private security forces and exacerbating ethnic tensions in order to divide the workers.^[14]Mainstream newspapers supported business interests, and were opposed by the labor and immigrant press.^[15]During the economic slowdown between 1882 and 1886, socialist and anarchist organizations were active. Membership of the Knights of Labor, which rejected socialism and radicalism, but supported the 8-hour work day, grew from 70,000 in 1884 to over 700,000 by 1886.^[16]In Chicago, the anarchist movement of several thousand, mostly immigrant, workers centered about the German-language newspaper Arbeiter-Zeitung("Workers' Times"), edited by August Spies. Other anarchists operated a militant revolutionary force with an armed section that was equipped with guns and explosives. Its revolutionary strategy centered around the belief that successful operations against the police and the seizure of major industrial centers would result in massive public support by workers, start a revolution, destroy capitalism, and establish a socialist economy.^[17]

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Sound familiar? Today's millennials think they invented the anarcharist's movement, antifa, and or the peaceful demonstrations against our government and its leaders. But no, dear reader, resistance harkens back to the beginning of our country and continues today and into tomorrow. So, tomorrow while you are enjoying your Labor Day festivities, take a moment to reflect on the heros of 1886 and beyond. We are fortunate to live in such a diverse and wonderful country despite its flaws and growing pains.

HAPPY LABOR DAY ALL.

Amazon Prime Day Confessions

Amazon Prime Day has come and gone, and yes, I participated. Among the goodies I purchased was a couple of kitchen gadgets that I've been wanting for some time, sooooo,
First up a Yogurt Maker. Yogurt is so easy to make if you got the time and the right equipment. I've made a couple of batches now and am loving it! A quart of milk plus 4 oz or a small container of plain yogurt gives you about 2.5 cups of yummy greek style yogurt. Since the cooking time of the yogurt is nine hours, I just set it up before going to bed and strain the next morning to the consistency I desire, about two hours for a nice creamy whipped cream like texture. Longer if you want a more cheese like thicker product.

The second gadget I got was a vertical spiralizer. It's a new concept for me so definitely still experimenting with it. I spiralized fresh apple to top off my yogurt dessert which consisted of fresh homemade yogurt sweetened with a bit of maple syrup, topped with fresh apple and cinnamon. Delicious!
The spiralizer is easy to use but don't know if I really care for it. Still it was less than $20 so if you could get bigger "noodles" it might have more use. I'm sure that there are better brands out there for that.


I also spiralized a potato into curly fries? Sort of. It did put out nice long strings of spirals. I soaked in water for a few minutes so they won't turn grey, yuck! Then I drained, and removed as much moisture as I could with my salad spinner. Now the salad spinner is one of my all time favorite gadgets! Then I tossed the potato spirals with a bit of salt, pepper and about a teaspoon of olive oil to coat.
 Into my air fryer for about 14 minutes. The potatoes came out very crispy and frankly delicious! Would be great as "nest" like you see in the fancy restaurants or maybe to drop a soft boiled into the nest for breakfast. Anyway, I just ate them as is. Tasted just like potato chips but with hardly any oil.  All the flavor but without the guilt! lol

Sweet potatoes for breakfast! Who knew?

 So yesterday as I was checking supplies for my shopping list, I noticed I only had two potatoes and a sweet potato left so I decided to go ahead and bake them up. I  baked them at 400 degrees for 60 minutes. Then let them cool and store in the fridge for near instant hashed or to shredded taters for breakfast or whatever!

 This morning I diced up the sweet potato and added some white onion which I pan fried in some bacon grease, then added an over easy egg for my breakfast. I seasoned the sweet potato/onion mixture with salt, pepper, and a bit of Mrs. Dash chili mix seasoning to make the potatoes more savory. Maybe, not so paleo since I am sure cured bacon wasn't around back in the day, but who cares? Bacon, bacon, bacon! 
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My original blog can be found here

Air Fryer and Paleo cooking

Yea! Got my Faberware Air Fryer today. First in the cooker-- Paleo friendly Fried Chicken 🍗 Ingredients: Frozen chicken breast tenderloins (Thaw so you can pat dry any water from them) Wet ingredients: one egg and 1 tablespoon full fat coconut milk (can use oil of choice) Dry ingredients: mixture of nut flour and coconut flour (I used hazelnut flour), salt, pepper. A tip I have picked up is to add a touch of cane sugar to dry mix. Why? For browning as the sugar caramelizes and browns. Again this is optional and not considered Paleo but it's just a pinch so I don't feel it interferes. Cook at 400 degree setting for ten minutes, open and flip over with tongs, cook another five minutes. My impression was mixed when I ate them. The flavor was excellent but the meat ended up pretty dried out. So, I think next time I will cook them at a lower heat and shorten the time. Not bad for the first cooking event.

Next I made a southern style biscuit which turned out perfect and delicious! Turn on Air Cooker to 355F and let it preheat while you prepare the dough.

The ingredients:
The Wet: one whole egg, one tablespoon coconut milk, 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup, squeeze of lemon juice
 The Dry: 1/2 cup almond flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, salt to taste Mix wet ingredients then fold into dry ingredients, spoon into ramekin and bake at 355F for 10-12 mins.

Edit: Sad to say my inexpensive air fryer's timer broke after using the machine three times! Cheap Chinese crap! Too bad, I was really starting to get into it. Since I had already disposed of the original packaging, Walmart's return policy won't honor the replacement guarantee, so I'm out the $40 I spent on it and a broken machine.

Lesson here: Always read the return policy before disposing of the packaging as they want you to repackage it in original package. Why? I dont know, the damn thing is broken so cant be resold.

Memorial Day is here and for me, it's time to get my potted plants put together for the summer season.

With commercial baskets now costing between $25 and $30, I decided to make my own for a fracture of the cost.

Picture is a "color bowl" I threw together with a gorgeous pale pink zinnia, two French Dorango Flame marigolds and a white with purple blotch pansy in the back. Already had the bowl, and my favorite garden frog ornament plus an interesting rock. Total cost to me less than $10.

Closet Paleo Eater

Free Paleo books from Amazon! Diet, recipes and more. Changes daily but always free!

Ok, I admit it. I have had issues with weight control most of my adult life. Blame it on genetics, self control or just plain gluttony, but what's true is true. I've stared at the weight scales in my bathroom every day for years "playing the game". Am I up, down, or the same? It's demoralizing and a hard habit to break. 

Hmmm, let's see..... 

weight watchers- yeah it worked for a while but expensive and time consuming and at the time, had a family with small children so dropped out.

Adkins low carb- worked all right but too restrictive and I worried about my nutritional needs. I missed and wanted fruit!!

Carboholics- definitely made sense but again was too much like Adkins. However it was nice to know that there were thousands if not millions of Americans who also dependent on carbs and processed foods. I didn't feel alone.

Calorie counting- boring and way too easy to eat just one thing to put me over the top!

 Last year I was curious and looked up Paleo thinking that No Way could I eat like a caveman or cavewoman. Afterall early man didn't get to eat three squares a day or even guaranteed a meal at all that day! That ain't happening, lol

However, I discovered that Paleo eating is basically about not eating processed products, agricultural foods and dairy to make it simple. Hmmm, eliminate, grains, legumes, processed sugars and boxed products, and diary. Well OK, I am good with most of that. I can go without with most of that but do reserve the right to some dairy such as full fat plain yogurt and cheeses. I don't care for drinkable milks, even nut milks. I think it's a taste and texture thing. But I do love plain yogurt with just a touch of maple syrup mixed into any kind of fruits I like for a yummy almost dessert like meal and the probiotics are good for my intestinal tract. And cheese, well, its just a food group of it's own in my opinion.

Oh, btw, I do eat one grain on a regular basis-- Oatmeal. Gluten free oatmeal is a Godsend and full of healthy fiber plus keeps you regular. I cooked up a quantity and keep in my fridge so "instant" oatmeal. I also add it to my dog's meals too. For a cereal type breakfast, I have a very small amount (1/4 to 1/3 cup cooked with a few nuts broken up and some berries in it. I add about one teaspoon of butter and maple syrup, mix and consume. Delicious!). Occasionally, I will spoon out a tablespoon of precooked oatmeal and mix into some plain yogurt with a little maple syrup and a touch of vanilla. To me, it's reminiscent of tapioca pudding, yummy!

 If I want a "bread", I have nut flours in my fridge and in about five minutes, I can have a muffin hot and yummy right out of my microwave. So I'm not lacking for "carbs".  And I have fruit!

 So basically my "Paleo Lite" way of eating includes, some dairy, and oatmeal. Not too bad of a deviation of the hard core Paleo plan and it works for me. Compromise is the key here for me. 

Let me point you to a website with a one page article that can better explain this dietary way better than I can: https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/the-beginners-guide-to-the-paleo-diet/

After adopting this way of eating over the past few months, I can honestly say I have dropped some significant weight, enough that people notice and comment. Sweet! However, as being a mere mortal I have slipped up this month and been eating some foods that are totally bad (seriously, Pringles? thank goodness that itch is out of my system now) and have bumped back up a couple of pounds but more importantly that damn round belly fat is back. And it's true, I feel bloated and gassy, not two feelings that I enjoy. So, it just goes to prove that my system just plain does better eliminating the non Paleo foods. 

 So, yeah, I'm a believer and I'm coming out of the closet. 

Lots of recipes and sites can be found on Pinterest and just by Googling. 

Springtime and time to start some seeds

It's mid March and it's time to get some seeds going. This year I am trying out a "new to me" black tomato called Japanese Black Trifele. I've grown Russian black tomatoes in the past and yes, they were ugly, but oh so juicy and full of flavor. Hoping these will measure up. These are a smaller tomato (around 2-3 inches on average) but that's good. I should get some fully ripened fruit. The plant is indeterminate which means it will vine and continue to set and ripen fruit up to killing frosts in October.
 Apparently the parent genetics comes from the Russian black so I am hoping for great results.
 I think I will look into getting some red mulch plastic to cover the bed with. With our shorter and cooler summers than what we had in southern Oregon, any way I can get fruit to produce and ripen, then I'm going there.

Also I planted some flower seeds for my hanging baskets at the same time. Got two different varieties of nasturtiums to try out. With the cost of store bought flowers starts and baskets, thought I would grow my own this year.

So last night I dug out an old Aero Garden set up that I had from years past. Viola! the lights still work, so got a 45 cell container out of the greenhouse, some rockwool cubes I found, potting soil and planted seeds today. Word to wise...... be sure to make a list/diagram of what seeds are in each pod! I have the cell container sitting on a cookie sheet under lights, so hopefully should see some seeds pop in a week or two.

It sure is nice to see spring again!

What's wrong with this picture?

Seriously, can fake diet pics get much worse? The article states that she lost the weight (37 pounds) in one month with their miracle diet (pills and vinegar). Sounds too incredible to be true?

Before pic: notice the length of her hair first of all. Now look at the after picture. Hair grows an average of 1/2 inch a month. I would say there is a good 3 to 4 inches difference so at best, six to eight months later.

Now look at the shorts: They want you to focus on the waist of course. But look at the legs. Why is the one (right) leg so much larger than on her left side which appears to fit her leg properly?

Now, I'm not saying that she didn't lose the weight but certainly not in a month. And the "fake" shorts are just too obvious.

So, if indeed these photos are six months apart, then yes, she could lose the 37 pounds in that length of time although that's a bit over six pounds a month, but doable.

Of course, we will never know if she dieted using their formula or not, but just goes to prove, "Don't believe everything you see on the internet"!

Let's talk about Pot

OK, Pot ie: marijuana sales are legal here in Oregon. Let's debunk some of the hysterical myths coming out of Washington D.C.

First of all, all marijuana businesses from the growers to the distributors to the shops that sell it are under the Oregon Liquor License Corp and licensed through the same. This is not black market sales but legitimate businesses.

Medical marijuana sales are separate from recreational sales and are not subject to the sales tax levied by the state.

Recreational sales are limited to adults age 21 and above, just like liquor sales.
Recreational sales are limited to 1/4 oz of marijuana flower for smoking per day. As of 2016 edibles are also available to recreational buyers.

Oregon now levies a 25% collectable tax at time of sale on recreational marijuana, medical is exempt.
Oregon made 54 million dollars in 2016 from the collect tax. Wow! So, where does that money go? 40% is earmarked for the common school fund. The rest is divided up between law enforcement, mental health, drug programs and yes, the cities that allow the marijuana shops in, also get a cut from the tax.

Now then, Jeff Sessions says the pot is way more potent that the stuff we had back in the sixties and seventies. He is right. This ain't no homegrown, although one plant can be purchased per customer for home growing and consumption but that's another story.

Mr. Sessions is fear mongering that pot sales is causing "real violence" and "big money" is involved. No, not true for legitimate sales. He also worries that our youth are smoking it. Just like with liquor, there is an age limit of 21. Persons under age are breaking the law. Violence and big money is harking back to black market selling which is not the focus of this blog.

Recreational marijuana is purchased through legitimate and licensed businesses just like the liquor store. You can't even get into the store without some form of picture ID ie: drivers license, government ID. Every patron submits their picture ID and is entered into a database before being allowed into the actual store. All purchases are cash only as banks will not process marijuana sales. All purchases must be sealed in a child proof container before the customer can exit the store.

Public smoking of marijuana is illegal. It is intended for home use only. Taking it out of state is illegal.

He is concerned and rightly so that young people should not smoke pot. True also for smoking cigarettes and alcohol. Mute point. Again, if they choose to abuse their bodies at the legal age, that's a personal choice. Most of us have certainly used these products that weren't good for us and have gone on to lead productive lives, raised a family and not been a burden on society.

He is equating using marijuana with using opioids. No, not true. Totally different animals. Opioids are prescribed by a Doctor and are limited as such. What pain relievers a patient takes is between the Doctor and the patient, PERIOD! Marijuana usage does not lead to "harder" drugs. That is a personal choice.

So who are purchasing pot now that it is legal in our state? Frankly, I've seen lots of senior citizens and persons of middle age who are looking to alleviate aches and pains from illness, backs, arthritis, you name it. Sure, there are lots of folks who are buying it strictly to get "high" but is that much different from the person who drinks wine or beer to excess for the same reason? I don't know, but again, while it is still legal in Oregon, it's still a personal choice and I won't throw stones.

Anyway, that's my two cents worth. We will see if the Federal Government shuts down the industry. When they do, then pot will go back to a black market status and all bets are off.