MaxRedline

Genetically Modified Food

It's a hot topic in some circles, but really: is there any food that hasn't been genetically modified?  The primary difference is that until recently, modifications took a long time, through trial-and-fail crossbreeding efforts.  That big ear of sweet corn you had on the 4th derives from ancestors that were perhaps 3 inches long.  The plump, juicy strawberries that you love at this time of year are derived from small, essentially inedible wild variants.

Genetic modification of foods has been going on for literally centuries, and oddly, lifespan of humans has increased during this time.  It almost makes you wonder if there might be a connection.

Of course, the folks who really hate genetic modification are mostly European, who are all so much smarter than Americans.  They're cutting-edge folks that we should emulate.

Right.

Name one European innovation that has taken off in the past century.

But we should ride bicycles and streetcars, and eschew genetically modified foods - just like the Europeans do.  Yeah.  Real cutting-edge.

The Europeans were so ahead of the game that they refused to allow foods like potatoes and tomatos in.  At least, initially. 

Potatoes aroused suspicion because they were unfamiliar. They were not mentioned in the Bible, which suggested that God had not meant people to eat them, said some clergymen.

More scientifically inclined botanists identified these first-known edible tubers as members of the poisonous nightshade family, and potatoes came to be associated with witchcraft and devil worship.

Same thing with tomatos. 

When it comes to food, the Europeans are just so much smarter than Americans, and we can all learn from them when it comes to cutting-edge stuff like bicycles and streetcars, as well.

Oddly, a funny thing happened during the course of the famine:  Europeans found that these uniquely American crops could actually feed people safely, and save lives.  Today, of course, tomatos are synonymous with Italy, and the quintessential Brit dish is roast beef and potatoes - preferably absent any actual taste..

But Europeans absolutely hate genetically modified foods.  Obviously, since you have so much to learn from the Europeans, you should hate them as well.

Go By Streetcar!

Just Curious

The Big Zero delivers a bunch of store fliers every Tuesday, like clockwork.  It's interesting, as we haven't subscribed to the paper itself in years.  But we don't mind, as we can always come up with things to do with a few sheets of newsprint.

Leafing through the store ads (sometimes, you may find something of interest), there was an ad for "bath tissue".  Just how did that moniker come about?  You can't use the stuff to dry off after a swim, a bath, or a shower.  It really only has two uses:  it is an excellent medium for writing legislation, work rules, commendations for exemplary service, and the like.  The other, of course, also has nothing to do with bathing.

Congress: We Don't Need To Read; We Just Vote

Do you even recognize your government anymore? 

These pompous idiots are passing bills that consist of a thousand or more jargon-filled pages of stuff (with a few hundred more thrown in under cover of darkness) that they can't be bothered to read.  How can they possibly be serving the people; how can they possibly be addressing your priorities and concerns?

These idiots, both Democrat and Republican, have come to believe that you exist to advance their interests, rather than the other way around.  They have destroyed the very concept of representative democracy upon which this nation was founded.

And they remain deeply opposed to actually reading the legislation prior to casting their votes.  They really are no different from the Stalinist rubber-stampers.

The time has come to remove each and every one of them from office.  Not one individual presently holding office can, with any degree of credibility, lay claim to fulfilling the task of representing his or her constituents.  If we are to regain any confidence in our government, if we are to regain any sense of control, then we have but one option:  replace them.

Across the board, Democrat or Republican, each and every one of them must be removed.  It doesn't matter how long they've been in office, nor how "honorable" they consider each other to be.  They need to go.

We need honest farmers and shop-keepers in Congress, rather than rich lawyers.  We need people in there who understand what it takes to live on $30,000 a year - or a bit less, or a bit more.  We need people who actually represent, and understand, your lifestyle.  We need people who don't assume that they're better or smarter than you, and who don't plan to build entire lives "fighting" in Congress.

Not one of the jerks presently in office has ever "fought" for your interests; they fight for their interests.  And their interests are generally profoundly different from those of the people that they claim to represent.  They need to go.

More Loot Rail!

Hot on the heels of RanAdumb's back-room deal guaranteeing us yet another multimillion-dollar "renovation" of Civic Stadium, the brain-trust at Metro has unanimously decided that we need light rail lines running along S.E. Powell Blvd. and S.W. Barbur Blvd. (both streets doubtless soon to be re-named).  The good ol' Goldschmidt team has an ambitious set of priorities for expanding upon the child-rapist's legacy of bright, shiny choo-choos. 

In addition to adding new lines as noted above, they also want to add more cost overruns frequent service to the wildly unsuccessful "commuter train" which runs a whopping 15 miles from Beaverton to Wilsonville.  Ah, the Goldshmidt Gang's got big plans in store for you - none of which you'll get to vote on, of course.  They let you do that a couple of times before, and you had the audacity to go against their wishes.

They're not about to let that happen again.  As a matter of fact, they've worked out what they believe may be ways to inflict things that you don't want upon you at an even faster rate. 

The Friends of Neil Goldschmidt, the little club that runs Metro, have learned well while snuggled in the lap of their rapist pal.  Hey, he got away with child rape, so they should be able to rape your wallet (and that of your children).

Councilors hope the strategy will help the region add light rail lines more quickly.

“We need to look at ways to this faster rather than open a line every decade or so,” said David Bragdon, the Metro council’s president.

Latest Dispatch From Media Fear-Mongers:

Those ships that carry your Nikes and your Toyotas and your iPhones, that carry grain and other supplies around the globe, that ferry your ride across Puget Sound, that haul thousands of fat butts up to Alaska?  They're going to kill you.

Yup, it turns out that emissions from ship smokestacks kill thousands of people, and are expected to kill 87,000 people a year within the next couple of years.  That's far more than the number of Americans who died in Viet Nam!  You bet your sweet bippy that this calls for tighter regulation.

Thank goodness we have the Political Class to watch out for us!  Although more regulations mean higher prices for all, it must be admiited that it's a small price to pay, as it's really in your best interest.

No word on how many more will starve to death.

BO @ G8: Forget That "Economic Stimulus Package"

"My package don't need more stimulatin', Baby."

From Her Mouth To God's Ear

And to yours.  JUSTICE GINSBURG: Yes, the ruling about that surprised me. [Harris v. McRae — in 1980 the court upheld the Hyde Amendment, which forbids the use of Medicaid for abortions.] Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.

Well of course!  We don't want to have too many, so Ginsburg believed that Roe would be used to eliminate the pests, echoing General Custer's view that "nits will grow lice".  That was his rationale for killing native american women and children, and quite obviously, guided Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg's views on abortion.

In late February, three weeks after she had an operation for a recurrence of cancer, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg went to Barack Obama’s first address to Congress. Given the circumstances, it wasn’t an event anyone expected her to attend. She went, she said, because she wanted the country to see that there was a woman on the Supreme Court.

This is why she supports BO's nomination.  Sexism is really important to her.  BO's nominated a woman, and that's really all that Ruthie sees as important.  Ruthie appears, judging strictly from her own comments, to be bigoted.  She wants women to be on the Court, because she's sexist.  She thinks that abortion should be freely available in order to control the population of what she considers to be "undesirables".

Isn't it wonderful to have someone like this around?

A Leftist Outs The Left

Faux objectivity.  Vicious double standard.  Dehumanization.  Forget about "hate crimes"; a crime is a crime - period. When a Leftist makes statements like these, it should give other Leftists pause.  Not that it does; simply that it should. Paglia, of course, is no Olberman, no Randi Rhodes.  Of course, she's no Coulter or Malkin, either.  The Left tends to go with spittle and foam, but the Right can often be a bit loose with facts.

Paglia is that rare gem: a Leftist who actually thinks, and who is therefore equally willing to condemn over-the-top Leftards such as Alec Baldwin and the aforementioned Rhodes (to say nothing of the east-coast establishment media), as she is to go up against bullies in the Right wing.

Thanks to Coyote (among a number of others) for bringing up this latest column.

The Heat Is On

And it's got nothing to do with "man-made" global warming; BO's administration has gone and ticked off veteran correspondent Helen Thomas.  Gibbsey tried to make nice with her, but she wasn't buying any of his baloney.  She's been around as administrations have come and gone, but of this one, she exploded: Not Even Nixon Tried to Control the Media Like Obama.  “I'm amazed.  I'm amazed at you people who call for openness and transparency and—”

The Most Transparent Administration In The History Of The Country

Carol Browner was fired by Clinton as head of EPA not too long after he'd appointed her.  Even he recognized that she's a nutball.

And sure enough: 

Soon after leaving EPA at the end of the Clinton administration, Browner was implicated in a federal court decision against EPA for destroying  official computer files. Here's how the AP reported the decision:

"A federal judge held the Environmental Protection Agency in contempt Thursday for destroying computer files during the Clinton administration that had been sought by a conservative legal foundation.

 

"U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth also ordered the EPA to pay the Landmark Legal Foundation's legal fees and costs because the agency disobeyed his order to preserve the electronic records of former chief Carol Browner.

 

Yet BO made her his "climate czar".  What did she do?  She instructed auto executives to"write nothing down" on those secret negotiations to jump the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards.  Always trying to hide and obfuscate, that Browner.

 

 

This is "transparency"?