Wrong Move

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/25/us-wisconsin-budget-vote-idUSN2528430720110225

I still say if unions truly have outlived their usefulness (and while some have, others haven't), it is up to the workers and union members to make changes, not politicians.

We've All Forgotten

The politicians are not in charge - we, the voters are.

It seems to me that many politicians behave as if, once they are elected to office, they no longer have to listen to their constituents.

This is the fault of the people, who have for far too long merely sat back and let the politicians act as if they were in charge and not representing our voices.

It's time our voices were heard again - and not just during a campaign, but throughout the terms.

We have the tools to make this happen: with twitter, facebook, email, interactive webpages, and blogs.

We, the people, are not stupid, lame, inept. We are certainly not cash cows for politicians to grow fat upon.

Isn't it time politicians went on a serious diet? And isn't it time they started doing their real job - which is to listen to their constituents and represent them fairly - all their constituents, not just the ones they personally know and like. They can't leave out the women, the children, the elderly, the gay, the disabled, the fat, the ugly, the poor, the boring, the homeless, the criminal, the lazy, the dirty, the eccentric, the anal retentive, the smelly - they have to represent all their constituents.

Round-Up

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/24/us-monsanto-roundup-idUSTRE71N4XN20110224

I have never used Round-Up, and I have refused to buy "round-up ready" seeds. I have been passively (and occasionally actively) boycotting Monsanto for decades, and that doesn't look to be changing anytime soon.

It's very hard to avoid Monsanto products, especially when you're primarily a flea market, farmer's market, and second hand-shopper like me. Labels are often removed so I can't be sure of the provenance of some items, and many of our local farmers aren't always positive of the sources of their seed.

I'm sure some Monsanto crap has made its way into my home, but not one Monsanto seed or garden chemical has been used on my property since I moved in.

Monsanto Allergies

And speaking of Monsanto, they've been producing and selling all around the world, round-up ready soy and corn and wheat. People who were once perfectly able to eat and enjoy these foods are recently discovering they have allergies to them.

I'm wondering if the allergy isn't to the corn, soy, or wheat, but to the genetic alterations Monsanto has made to the seeds of these plants?

Perhaps, if they ate heirloom wheat, soy, and corn they or a trusted farmer they know grew, they wouldn't have these negative reactions.

Re-Invention

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/25/us-exhibitions-victorian-drawings-idUSTRE71O26C20110225

The Victorian Era was a mixed bag of poverty, abuse, innovation, adventure, repression, exploration and tumultuousness.

What draws many steampunkers is that "explosion of intellectual, scientific, literary and artistic curiosity." Like the Victorians, steampunkers "extremely interested in science, venturing abroad and recording the natural world around them", and we have a much broader technological base with which to play.

I would love to see this exhibit.

Pity that the TSA and my own country prevents me from doing so.