Life As I See It

Let me start this post by stating that I hate taxes, I hate the idea of taxes, I don't want to pay any taxes, I will never like taxes. If you raise my taxes I promise to bad-mouth you and I will hate you forever. BUT! Without taxes our government will cease to exist and anarchy will reign and all civilization will cease to exist. Your life will be in the hands of those with the most guns and the will to destroy you. You will starve, your family will be enslaved, you will be forced to work for the well-being of those that destroyed you. Without taxes we will become a debtor nation. Oh wait, that's right we are a debtor nation. We currently owe other nations over 10 trillion dollars or $516,348 per household. For an update on how much we owe at this minute, here is the link:

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

A couple of things to think about:

1. The Iraq War. What was the bill that raised the money to finance the war? There wasn't one. Congress authorized the President to spend the money for invading Iraq but they didn't raise the money through taxes; they borrowed it.

2. The war In Afghanistan. Again, congress authorized the spending for the war but they didn't raise the money for the expenditure; they borrowed it.

3. Bush decreased taxes on the rich. This reduced the income of the government so the government had to borrow more to finance the day to day operations of the government.

4. The prescription drug plan. Bush grossly understated the cost of the drug plan and the costs are climbing daily with no end in sight. Again, Congress hasn't funded the bill adequately.

5. Many, many programs that the government funds are fiscally unsound. The government spends more on the program that they can afford. The solution? Borrow.

6. The bright spots in the government are Social Security and Medicare. Contrary to what Washington says, both programs are running a surplus for now. Why does the government say that the plans are in trouble? The revenues for both plans come in and the government immediately writes a IOU for the money that they take from the plans. It's like lending your money to a bankrupt individual with the same odds that you will get your money back. But, as more of the baby boomers retire the fund payout will exceed the income

7. The costs of the entitlement programs such as Social Security, etc. will exceed the government income between the years 2030 to 2040.

8. Almost half of the income of the Federal government goes to service the National Debt and it will become harder and harder to service our debt as more baby boomers retire. If we begin to default on our debt, goods and services and loans provided by other countries will stop and our total economy will grind to a halt.

9. Earmarks are the buzzwords in politics these days. The earmarks last year were around $44 billion. A huge figure but a relatively small part of our $2.8 trillion 2007 budget.

10. Our government recently authorized a $700 billion bailout for the financial crisis. It is unclear where this money is coming from. Did the government have $700 billion sitting in a room somewhere just waiting to be spent? If the government is cranking up the printing presses to make more money without backing it up with some kind of value it will seriously deflate the worth of your money.

11. The government recently gave AIG $84 billion to bailout the company. Again, was the money sitting in a room somewhere just waiting to be spent?

12. Every day we hear about more money being spent to bailout the economy. Where is all of this money coming from?

The above examples of our financial situation seem to indicate that we need to tighten our collective belts and trim our spending and increase our income. But then, I hear both candidates say that they have very large gifts for the citizens of this country. Granted, the two candidates have different recipients of that largess. One wants to give it to the middle class and the other wants to give it to the rich so that it can trickle down. Both are similar in that the programs are a raid on the treasury with little increase in the income of the government.

It's time to start sitting down and seriously reviewing our ideas of what we expect our government to do. I'm not really worried that either candidate will carry through on their campaign promises because the money just won't be there. It's time for a leader to step forward and tell the American people just what our finances are like. We have to reign in our spending and to begin to show the true cost of government programs. If people really knew the cost of these programs I doubt that many of them would be voted into law.

There is a company doing business today that I feel is the forerunner of the companies of the future. Terracycle takes the concept of a eco-friendly company to the extreme. One of their first products was worm poo. That's right worm manure. Worm poo is a super concentrated fertilizer that is as natural and eco-friendly as can be. Nature has been making the same product for millions of years. Terracycle harvests worm poo on a commercial scale and then sells it to the consumer. A 100% eco-friendly product with almost no negative impact to the earth. I know you, being the skeptic that you are, are saying that we now have a commercial enterprise shipping a natural product with tons of new packaging. Not so! Terracycle uses those plastic soda bottles that you throw away and discarded milk bottles to package their worm poo. You can even sell your old plastic bottles and used candy wrappers to them.

Besides worm poo, Terracycle is branching out into many other products. Each new product is eco-friendly. What strikes me about their website is that they have a short video for almost every product that explains why it is eco-friendly and how to use it. Their websites are also a valuable reference guide for organic and natural living. The page on their new composter, if you printed it out, is 14 pages long (8 1/2 by 11.) The web page goes into great detail about composting.

One of their latest products is compressed fire logs made from waxed cardboard. Waxed cardboard cannot be recycled at this time and winds up in the landfill. Terracycle has taken a big problem and has found a solution that is good for the environment and profitable for them. Think of it; every thing that you purchase from Terracycle helps to save the environment and allows Terracycle to make a fair profit. Do you know of many products that you can say that about? Check out their website at:

www.terracycle.com

One new product that caught my eye was their new composter. Terracycle takes old wine barrels and makes an excellent composter out of them. Wine barrels can only be used once and then the winery tries to sell them but often they are thrown away. The Terracycle composter should last a lifetime as the wood in the barrel is extremely thick. The composter sits on rollers so that it allows you to turn the composter to aerate the waste products in the composter and accelerate the process. All you have to do is fill the composter about 1/2 way and then give it a spin every couple of days. In a few weeks you will have compost ready for your garden and plants. For gardeners with small lots this would be ideal. Now there is no reason for everyone not to compost. All of your arguments against composting are gone. It's convenient, it's easy, it solves the problem of too much waste in our landfills, it will solve your fertilizer needs for little or no cost, it helps save the environment and it helps to keep chemicals out of your body. Please don't buy fertilizer; you have all of the fertilizer you need in your neighborhood.

I have a very good feeling about Terracycle. I have no problem with a company selling eco-friendly products at a fair price and making a lot of money. I hope the owners of Terracycle become multi-billionairs. I think that Terracycle is the company of the future here today. You used to walk in factories and see steam escaping everywhere, there were huge waste problems, chemical contamination problems for employees and little regard for energy efficiency. In the very near future such practices will be unheard of; it is just too costly. Zero waste is a buzz word in industry these days.

I'm sure that everyone has had fruit flies in their kitchen at one time or another. Fruit flies will often be attracted to slightly over-ripe fruit. If you're wondering how to rid your kitchen of these pests without spraying poisons on the surfaces that you use to prepare the foods that your family will eat, here is a safe, natural solution that works great. Fruit flies need to drink just like most other insects and animals and are attracted to the smell of apple cider vinegar.

Get a small glass and then make a cone out of paper, leaving a 3/8" opening at the bottom of the cone, and use tape to keep the cone formed. Pour a small amount of apple cider vinegar into the glass. 3/8" of cider vinegar is enough. Put the cone in the glass and then seal the area where the paper cone meets the glass with tape or any other method to make sure that there are no gaps that would allow the fruit flies to escape. It is very important that ALL gaps between the paper cone and the glass are sealed as even a 1/16" gap will render the trap useless. Keep adding tape until all gaps are sealed.

Set the glass close to the area where the fruit flies are and then let it set until you are "fruit fly free." It may take a couple of days for all of the fruit flies to fall into the vinegar but it works great. The second picture shows my trap with 10 fruit flies floating in the vinegar.

Now you have rid yourself of this pesky critter without harming you or your family. Not only is this method safe and natural but it is also cheaper than buying chemical pesticides.

The country is $700 billion poorer today. Congress has voted to bail out the greed merchants of Wall Street with taxpayer dollars. I haven't even heard a thank you from Wall Street. Now the fun begins. An army of people are going to have to be hired to set a price on the bad mortgages that the $700 billion is going pay for the mortgages from the banks. Guess who is going to be hired for these new positions. The same real estate agents, appraisers, stock brokers, bankers, loan officers, and others that got us into this mess. But-this time they won't make any wrong decisions. Right!!!

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Savings and Loan Crisis 1989

Enron 2001

The Great Financial Crisis of 2008

Keep your hand on your wallet.

An aside: The politicians are saying that the government is going to make the banks renegotiate the mortgages of those who are facing foreclosure. That mortgage has been sold several times and often it takes months to track down who owns it now. It has been bundled with many other mortgages to make it more palatable to investors. Usually the bank that originated the loan services the loan on a contract basis. I'm sure you've heard that European banks are in trouble over our sub-prime loans. How can our government force a bank in France or Germany renegotiate a mortgage?

Now that the air is turning cooler in the early morning and the leaves are starting to give a hint that you'll soon have to start raking leaves; it's time to start making plans to continue to eat healthy through the fall and winter months. As you look out at the squirrels running around and burying seeds so that they will have a food source for the cold winter months you wonder how you will get the fresh greens that you need to sustain your own life. There is an easy and very inexpensive way to provide your family with fresh, extremely nutritious greens all year round. That method is by sprouting your own greens from seed.

The equipment to grow your own sprouts is probably in your home right now. I use wide-mouthed Mason jars and sprouting lids that I bought at the health food store. Actually all that you need is any large glass jar and any type of screen to keep the seeds from escaping when you rinse the seeds. Any hardware store sells the gray hardware screen that you can cut to fit inside of a canning jar lid. (Check lid often and replace if you see any rust.) If you have a hole saw around the house you could cut a large opening in a plastic lid for your Mason jar and eliminate the worry about rust.
Enclosed is a picture of the type of lid that I use. Warning: once you find out how great sprouts are and how much your family will love them; one lid will not be enough.

If you do a Google search for sprouts you will find that there are many types of sprouters that you can purchase for any where from $20 to many hundreds of dollars. For most people a simple one quart wide-mouth Mason jar and a screen is all that you'll need. If you family requires a large amount of sprouts you can always start sprouting several jars at once to keep your family well supplied. I have read reports of problems with the automatic sprouters and I suspect it is because of standing water or improper cleansing of the equipment. As with any food, cleanliness is important.

You will find that sprouting is so easy that you'll wonder why it isn't done by everyone. BTW-you can skip your own sprouting and buy the sprouts in the grocery store for $1.98 or more. $1.98 or more isn't too much to spend for 10 cents worth of sprouts is it? One pound of many of the seeds used for sprouting will produce 10 pounds of sprouts.

The common seeds for sprouting are alfalfa, wheatgrass, fenugeek, lentils, peas, radish, clover, mung beans, cabbage, broccoli, garbanzos and mustard. Many seed suppliers sell combinations of seeds so that you can vary your sprout diet just as you do your other foods. You can experiment with different combinations to find the type of sprouts that your family loves. If you like a spicy sprout you can add mustard seed or radish seed. You might have to experiment to find just how much seed it takes to give your sprouts the "kick" that you like. I use a lot of broccoli sprouts for the very high antioxidants in them that protect against some forms of cancer.

Sprouts can be used in any way that you would use lettuce. The bean sprouts can be used in salads, soups, stews spaghetti or in combinations with other vegetables. You can put sprouts on your grilled cheese, tacos, tuna sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, in your salad, on top of your vegetables, as a garnish to your meat dishes, the list goes on and on. Sprouts are more nutritious than the seeds from with they come. Mother Nature takes the seeds, adds the sprouting process and makes a much more nutritious product.

Start

Take a super clean Mason jar and put about two slightly rounded tablespoons of alfalfa seeds in the jar. (Other seeds might use slightly more or less. I am sprouting some lentil seeds and I covered the bottom of my sprouting jar with a layer of seed about 3.8" thick.) Add at least 4" of cool water to the jar and set aside with the lid on. Allow the seeds to soak for about 6 hours undisturbed. I let any bean seeds soak for about 10 hours. After the seeds have soaked drain the water completely and set the jar upside down on an angle to let all of the water drain.

Rinse and Drain

Two or three times a day fill the jar with cool water and swirl around to rinse and then drain all of the water out. Each time set the jar upside down on an angle to let all of the water drain. Standing water in the jar is one of the main reasons for crop failure. After all of the water has drained set the jar on the counter and go about the rest of your day. Simple right?

In 3 to 6 days you will have your crop of sprouts to use. Refrigerate any unused sprouts and use them within 3 or 4 days. After 4 days they will begin to dry out. Bean sprouts can be frozen until you are ready to add them to your soups or stews. Once your family realizes how good sprouts are you will have to start a new crop every two or three days in a new jar. You can then start harvesting your sprouts every two days or so. Be sure to thoroughly clean your jars and lids after each crop is harvested.

A while ago the FDA warned about salmonella in sprouts. Sprouts cannot create salmonella. It must be introduced to the sprouts from another food. Do not handle another food before or while you are handling your sprouts. Always clean your sprouting equipment after each crop. ALWAYS use organic seeds. The idea of sprouting is to take control of what goes into your body. If you buy non-organic seeds you have no idea what pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers you are putting in your body. The above instructions on handling sprouts are the same as you would use with any food.

Suppliers

Check out your local health food store first. They will have any thing you need to begin sprouting. They are always ready to answer your questions about sprouting.

Amazon.com has organic seeds and many sprouting supplies.

SproutPeople.com Although I have never dealt with them.