IDIOCRACY ?!

Let's agree to disagree, but first let's listen to what y'all have to say.

Do y'all know what we're talkin' about today? If y'all are reading this on the internet- and we know you are, you must be familiar with the film "Idiocracy". Well hunnies if y'all need to get up to speed, click here, to read a pretty good summin' up of this movie.

It takes place in the distant future, where we have all been systematically dumb downed by our own willingness not to think for ourselves. Problem is, this has already happened.


Miss Vero is heartbroken to think that there are so many folks calling themselves parents, who do not have enough faith in their so called parenting abilities to let their children hear and see things they might not agree with.

Time was, when Miss Vero had some children, (oh Lawd, yes, there was a time), we encouraged them to listen to every religious view, every political view and every personal view of folks they met. Then our little spawn, would came home to discuss these topics and we shared our own beliefs and had enough faith in our raising up abilities to let them make informed choices about what kind of people they would grow up to be. Now, because they are mere mortals, they made mistakes along the way, but in the end, they became fine people and were smart enough to get the h-e-double toothpicks away from here. The end.

Howevah, this whole business of the Indian River PUBLIC school system not sharing the Presidents back to school speech is a prime example of fear and ignorance. Since fear and ignorance are so much part of the Republican party (Hunnies, they have used this strategy for years) and the Republican party is so so much of Indian River County, well, there y'all are.




In fact, if any one knows anything about Florida politics, y'all would know that the Great State of Florida was, historically, a Democratic state and that included Indian River County for many years. We once heard a story about the Sheriff at the time, who came around to all the deputies and registered them to vote. They were also told to register Republican. "Ain't we Democrats?" one asked. "Nope, we's Republicans now" and that's the way it went.

Now before y'all get your panties in a bunch, Miss Vero is not saying that being a Democrat is the way to go, we actually like to refer to them as the lesser of the two evils. What we are saying is that just maybe we should listen to folks before we judge them and this would include, oh we don't know, maybe the President of the United States?

Ok, we know this is a big step for some of y'all. Especially our two conservative friends, Max Newport and Rhett Palmer. So let us just start with Max - There are many things that filter through Max's head that he feels compelled to post on the comments of Russ Lemmon's column. Y'all would think, now that Max has his own blog on Veronews, that he would have a good enough outlet, but no, he continues to dive into that snakepit week after week. While we don't often agree with Max and, Lawd knows he's a cheap date, we love him none the less and consider him a great friend. Y'all know the old sayin' a good friend bails you out of jail, while a great friend is the one sittin' next to you, wonderin' who the heck is gonna bail you both out? That could be Max.

Rhett Palmer, on the other hand, is just plain crazy. Like a fox. Don't believe Miss Vero? Then ask yourselves, who can make a decent living out of no market, AM radio show, the best part of which are the promo jingles? He's an entertainer, plain and simple. And guess what? We certainly don't agree with anything Rhett has to say either!

But here's the thing, on any given night y'all might find Miss Vero swigin' back a few with any number of our Republican friends, who we don't necessarily agree with. And here's the other thing, you will never find Miss Vero having coffee in Area 51 of Bob Evans with Russ Lemmon, with who we do agree with today! Yes, mark y'all's calendars, because we are in Mr. Lemmon's corner on this issue.

So, y'all don't have to necessarily like those you agree with and y'all don't necessarily have to agree with those you like, but being civil to one another sure would be nice.


Our point, and yes, thanks for paying attention, we do have one- is something we learned a million years ago back in civics class -
I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it*

*Though these words are regularly attributed to Voltaire, they were first used by Evelyn Beatrice Hall, writing under the pseudonym of Stephen G Tallentyre in "The Friends of Voltaire" (1906), as a summation of Voltaire's beliefs on freedom of thought and expression.

A woman, writing under a pseudonym? How clever.

And so much better than "Welcome to Costco, I love you." Don't y'all think?

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

Oh and a huge PS to the TCPalm comment censor - Deleting LDouglas' comment for providing a link to Miss Vero's Beach House? Fear and ignorance indeed.

DON'T STOP BELIEVIN...

INT. UNDERTOW - AFTERNOON

The favorite haunt of Miss Vero and
cohorts. We see Miss Vero, Max Newport
and LDouglas seated at a table.
Miss Vero is seated facing the door.


MISS VERO
"Where's Viv, is she late again?"


MAX
"Well, she called and said
she was pulled over for having an
Amy Winehouse sticker obscuring her tag...

...but she'll be right in, you know
she has trouble parallel parking."


LDOUGLAS
"I hope you don't mind,
I ordered for the table -
organic onion rings, harvested by
documented workers and
prepared in oil without trans fat."

MAX
"Got any ideas for the blog, Miss V?"


MISS VERO
"Oh hunney, now that we have
bigger fish to fry,
we do have a little somethin in mind ...


Miss Vero stops mid sentence as
Viv enters, Miss Vero smiles...


MISS VERO
MWAH!


over the sound system we hear...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnT7nYbCSvM












missvero@live.com

GREETINGS FROM GREEN ACRES!

LDouglas Drops

It's Tuesday afternoon, figuratively and literally. This is the last week of Florida's Legislative Session- providing they passed a budget by the time you read this. Hard to believe 60 days have come and gone already. It's the first time I really tried to pay attention to what they were doing and I must say, it was no easy task.

The craziness of it kind of muddles the mind. Bills have to go to committees where amendments can be added. It has to be read three times before being put up for a vote, unless it gets attached to another bill. So you just never know what's going to happen until it does. It'll take a little time I suppose to sort things out.

(The Press Journal highlighted how fast things change there in their editorial today): http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/apr/28/election-bills-simply-03/

When I said we're facing hard times and politicians don't always tend to do what's right during hard times, I was hoping I would be wrong but alas, no such luck.

I've already gone over loosening growth and environmental regulations while we're swamped with homes for sale and face water shortages so won't go over that again.

But some other examples of the other madness I see is cutting funding by 15% for Florida Virtual School which means less classes can be offered while the demand for classes is on the rise. That one class being cut costing $510 online could be the difference of a kid keeping up or graduating or being held back for an extra year at a cost of $7,000.

Attaching funding for Florida Forever to the offshore drilling bill is another. The House passed the drilling bill (as close as a mile- which both Reps. Mayfield and Poppell voted yea) when tourism is such a big part of our economy and we'll be doing it when we won't even be getting a premium for it. (But at least as of now the Senate says they won't pass it. Do you think our Reps are sorry they voted yea now?)

Then there's the budget cuts to the criminal justice system which has them saying they'll have to release all sorts of prisoners early, yet they refused to hear the "Second Chance Act for Children in Prison". That would have given children 15 and under at the time of their crime, who received long adult sentences consideration for release after eight years, under strict conditions. Like if they were an accessory to a crime committed by an adult, rather than playing a major role, among other things.

I could go on but there's really no point.

Would you like a recession proof job? Become a lobbyist. Lobbying is a $200 million-a-year business and they outnumber Florida’s 160 legislators by 12-to-1. According to a Brevard County lobbyist, not one of his clients have scaled back due to the economy. And we wonder why our voices aren't heard.

Moving on.

"When it comes to dwindling resources, petroleum may get all the press, but many experts believe that water is the bigger story." A link to the rest of the article and a nice list of tips for conserving water:

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/learn/news/pour-water-conservation

An interesting article in Scientific American "Top 10 Myths about Sustainability". If you look at Myth #9 he talks about population and its importance, but unfortunately takes a defeatist attitude on it. I believe we can reverse the trend with education and the tools necessary for family planning without taking away a woman's right to plan her family size as she sees fit.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=top-10-myths-about-sustainability

Is there sustainability without a sustainable population?

"The biggest threat to global stability is the potential for food crises in poor countries to cause government collapse". Another more serious but very interesting article in Scientific American: "Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=civilization-food-shortages

Lester Brown, the writer of that article and author of several books is the president of the Earth Policy Institute which is "dedicated to building an environmentally sustainable economy- an eco-economy".

http://www.earthpolicy.org/index.htm

Can we have a sustainable economy without a sustainable population? Lester doesn't think so and neither do I.

Want to pass something valuable on to your children and grandchildren? Pass the knowledge of making compost, growing and preserving food. A basic knowledge of natural remedies IMO, would also be valuable.

For those who didn't like my immigration blogs, you may like my second favorite magazine: "Yes! Magazine, supporting you in creating a more just, sustainable and compassionate world"

http://www.yesmagazine.com/

Yes, I veer sharply from their immigration stance because there is no justice for those who don't have access to basic necessities- food and water. As there is no sustainability (for long) without a sustainable population, no matter how good we get at the three R’s or conservation. And compassion is one thing but it doesn't provide necessities. If the United States goes broke, there will be no room for compassion for others.

When are you gonna come down, When are you going to land?

....

You can't plant me in your penthouse, I'm going back to my plow,

Back to the howling old owl...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UmbFf51OGE

TTFN, LDouglas

GREETINGS FROM GREEN ACRES!

Today's post in the second in a series by LDouglas. We are so happy to have lively and fascinatin guests at the Beach house. We're sure this topic will bring out as much conversation as Max on Monday. We'll start -Miss Vero's comment is the addition of the photo and caption above. Anyone else?


Oh... and a Happy Earth Day y'all!

When I said last week there would be a part 2 to my blog I had planned to give you a run down of some of the costs of illegal immigration. There are scads of data out there of the costs to taxpayers and non taxpayers alike. But it occurs to me through slight of hand or by some hat trick they've changed the conversation on me. It's like they concede illegal immigrants are costing us too much financially so the premise now for pro-amnesty immigrant groups is that by making them citizens, they can be contributors rather than takers. For instance, the Immigration Policy Center claims the economic gain of citizenship for illegal immigrants would be $66 billion dollars in new state and federal revenue. They figure that because there are many illegal immigrants working for employers who pay them cash under the table. What the study doesn't take into account is how many of those workers would not end up being taxpayers even if their employers hired them legally. Or how many would qualify for various public assistance programs. Or how many have a family in their home country that would become eligible for citizenship. Or how many children would be added to our educational system. They also do not take into account the $66 billion would not come from employers pockets but consumers pockets- ours. It's very much like double jeopardy.

Helping fund Social Security is another tactic used by pro-amnesty groups. They say we need millions of young workers to pay for the large numbers of baby boomers getting ready to collect. But low wage workers don't put as much into the system and they often get back more than they put in. Also, many could qualify for benefits right off the bat without ever contributing. It is also very much like double jeopardy. And like a really bad Ponzi scheme. That being how many more will be needed to contribute to their social security.

According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, our immigration rate is higher than at any other time since the early 1900's. At our current rate of legal immigration, our population increases by 1% a year which doesn't sound like much until you realize at that rate our population will double to 600 million by 2087. If the immigration rate increases through path to citizenship for illegal immigrants on top of current legal rates, we could reach 1 billion by the next century. While we won't be here then we'll certainly be subjected to the growing pains along the way.

And we'll be making no difference in why people choose to cross our borders or in the countries they leave behind. If you have 17 minutes, here's a really good video that explains it simply. If you're pressed for time, fast forward to the last third.

Immigration Gumballs: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5871651411393887069

Sunday's Press Journal had an article stating Congress will be back this week from their spring break and how over the next 5 weeks they'll be working on the big issues- bank regulation, health care, energy, and education. Aside from bank regulation, I just don't see how we'll make any headway or progress on those other issues if overnight we grow the numbers of citizens we're trying to improve those services for.

Another reason is because birthright citizenship puts us in a dilemma of what to do when a mother is illegal but her children are not. We've pretty much stopped workplace raids because they say it's inhumane to separate a mother from her children. I don't deny it's a horrible thing but yet in this country we still send women to jail or prison when they break the law. What gives one woman more rights to break the law than another?

Another part would be to require employers to use E-Verify. That would keep the employers honest while also stemming the flow of illegal immigrants. It would also make better working conditions for guestworkers and keep us from having the reaction to an injured foreign worker like we've had to the last two along the Treasure Coast.

There are a slew of immigration bills proposed. Some for, some against. You can find them here at Congress.org:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issuesaction/billlist/?issue=26

They're not all on one page so click “more bills” at the bottom to go to the next list.

BTW, there is one proposed that would limit citizenship at birth to persons born in the United States to mothers who are U.S. citizens or legal residents. (H.R. 126.)

Further reading on population, environment, public issues and immigration: http://www.thesocialcontract.com/

Same as above but to sign up to receive action alerts and send free faxes at key times: http://www.numbersusa.com/content/

TTFN, LDouglas

MWAH!
missvero@live.com

LDOUGLAS

I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today‏


It's Tuesday. At least that's what it feels like to me. Time for Wimpy to pay up. But instead of paying up he's still at his old games. Remember him? He's the cartoon character in Popeye that often said "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today". I've always thought that was a good analogy to describe what we were doing as a country and find it's just as fitting for what Florida is currently doing.

With the help of Wikipedia, let me explain a little more about Wimpy. He was very intelligent and well educated but very lazy and gluttonous. He was also something of a scam artist. He would often try to outwit others with his convoluted logic. But he was a wimp. When he got someone angry at him he'd placate them with an invitation for a duck dinner. But as soon as he got far enough away he'd yell "You bring the ducks!”



Am I wrong or does that describe our Florida Legislature and their quest to lift environmental protections, do away with all impact fees and banish the Department of Community Affairs? We’ve already put off paying til Tuesday what we've been consuming today and yet they still pile on. Oh they say they're inviting us to a duck dinner in the name of economic development but they're waiting to get far enough away before they yell for us to bring the ducks. Wimps!

I call them that not to insult their physical strength or their intellectual strength (well maybe a little) but because they are so similar to that cartoon character. I just don't understand why they would use this crisis to foster more of what got us here in the first place and not use it to create a real sustainable economy.

I just hope they know what they're doing as there are plenty of people that just won't sit well with increased taxes to pay for new housing developments. Florida Hometown Democracy will be on the 2010 ballot and the Department of Community Affairs along with the other checks and balances IMO, was the only solid ammunition they had to oppose it.

According to the Sierra Club Florida Report, there are "three hot issues in the Capitol this week: the budget, “streamlining”, and the future of the Department of Community Affairs".

The Sierra Club lobbyist says when pressed most members admit the rules now in place are not responsible for our economic downturn. But they want to “eliminate duplication” so the economy can pick up quickly when the recession is over. Too bad eliminating duplication to them means throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There's still time to voice your opinion.

Progress Florida has a letter to ask our legislators to not dismantle the Department of Community Affairs. It just needs your name, e-mail and zip.
http://progressflorida.org/page/s/dontpaveflorida

Here's an opinion piece in support of the DCA from a former county administrator of Manatee County while it was one of the fastest growing counties in Florida. http://www.pnj.com/article/20090329/OPINION/903290311

An excerpt: "Enactment of this bad legislation most likely will result in developers being let off the hook when it comes to them being responsible for paying for the infrastructure that is required to support their development. Who would pay the infrastructure bill for their developments? You would!"

Duck dinner anyone?


One last thing for now. Have you heard about the "tea party"? No, not the one Miss Vero attended last week (though that was most titillating ;-)). The one where Americans are urged to send a tea bag to the White House if you're disgusted and angry with the way Washington is handling our taxes. Just today I came across a link to a local "tea party". It seems like the web-site is in its infancy but they do have a "tea party" planned locally. I have no idea what those plans are but I do know the meeting is on April 15th from 12-2 p.m. at the IRC Administration Building. Check it out here:
http://site.indianriverteaparty.com/Home.html

Oh and the cool thing- when you click on the short video it leads you to a page with the header “Wimp.com”. How prophetic!

TTFN, LDouglas

GREETINGS FROM GREEN ACRES!

...and remember them at election time!




THE TALLY IN TALLY

The more I pay attention, the more I realize just how short sighted and self serving some politicians can be. And the less I'm able to put an optimistic spin on the bills I see advancing in the Florida Legislature this year. I can't say there aren't any good ones but they're not moving along as fast as the bad ones.

Over the last week, I sent a letter to 5 different committees consisting of a total combination of 76 congresspersons and if I subtract the handful of automated replies, I can count 4. (Two of which were from the same guy and he isn’t even my representative.)

Not one was from the four committee members I wrote asking not to include nuclear in our "renewable" portfolio standard. But I did get a reply from Governor Crist's Energy office basically reiterating what I wrote- but it included "If you hold strong feelings about this decision I would encourage you to contact your elected state Legislators".

Righto Guv'nor. Thank you for the advice.

In the name of economic development a bunch of politicians are using our economic woes as a way to get rid of all the checks and balances we have pertaining to growth and environment (as inadequate as they've been). There's somewhere around 300,000 empty houses in Florida, we're closing down schools, more and more people are out of work, more and more water restrictions are being mandated and all they can do is use it as an opportunity for a free for all. Even if you're an anti-environmentalist and/or pro-growth you can't like the bills being pushed through. Some of them not only weaken or eliminate any checks on growth and the environment but they take decisions (power) from local governments and the people themselves.

Senator Bennett, chairman of the Senate Community Affairs Committee is pushing a bill to get rid of the Department of Community Affairs or merging it with another government agency. Even if you're a developer like Senator Bennett, the DCA works for you. The St. John's Water Management District says we'll be out of sustainable water supplies in 4 years. Other areas of Florida are already running out of water. The Tampa area with an aquifer, a huge reservoir and a desalination plant just banned all lawn watering.

That alone reminds us of the need for the only real growth management tool we have- the DCA. I know there is room for improvement in our growth management regulation but getting rid of it altogether is not in anyone's best interest. Not even if you want to build and sell houses. Go right over the IR County line in Fellsmere and there are thousands of acres of land that just like in Fellsmere were once zoned agricultural but are now annexed to Palm Bay. They're in the St. John's Water Management District too and there'll be no agency coordinating regional impacts. Remember, SJWMD's job is to find and allocate what water there is, not to say where we can or can't grow. Not to mention the impact Palm Bay's development will have on IRC roads from Babcock and U.S. #1.

Another bill wants a 3 year moratorium on impact fees and it would take away an individual county's right to decide whether or not to partake- or if they want to let off on some but not on others as was currently proposed.

Another bill will make it easier to get a permit to pollute surface water and destroy wetlands and harder for agencies overseeing wetlands and surface water to use their rules to refuse permits.

Another bill dubbed “streamlining” would weaken environmental protections and includes a moratorium on new or more stringent protections for three years.

Another bill advancing is making a one size fits all law for fertilizer run-off. Communities would have to prove they need stricter rules than the state if they should live near some watershed they want to protect such as the Indian River Lagoon or the ocean. This would impose extra expense and difficulties for local governments that want to prevent water problems rather than mitigate them.

Last but not nearly least is the Paid Petition Circulators bill designed to limit our ability to promote constitutional amendments through the petition process. In the future, anybody could be affected by this bill as a citizen, even those pushing for it. It's especially egregious because it invalidates a petition signed in good faith by a registered voter through no fault of their own. Sometimes we have no other redress but the citizen's petition process.

All those bills are being pushed in the name of economic development. Florida's economy cannot recover without clean, adequate or affordable water supplies, if the roads are jammed or in poor repair, or if we have ever rising property taxes- and still no "good" or sustainable jobs.

An interesting article on how Gainesville is taking a better path to economic development:
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/03/the-rooftop-revolution?cmpid=WNL-Friday-March20-2009

Green For All's web page on the Economic Recovery Package:
http://www.greenforall.org/resources/recovery-package

"The package includes BILLIONS of dollars in funding for green job training, weatherization, and greener, more energy efficient infrastructure."

There’s still some process to go through before any of those become laws or regulations so we still have time to have a say before they come up for a vote. Below are two links to letters to get you started...

A pre-written letter from Audubon in favor of saving the Department of Community Affairs:
http://audubonaction.org/campaign/save_florida_growth_management

A pre-written letter from Audubon in favor of protecting wetlands and water resources:
http://audubonaction.org/campaign/no_to_env_ponzi_scheme

TTFN, LDouglas

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

WE ALL HAVE OUR PLACE IN THE SUN

If there's one thing that Miss Vero loves more than carryin on and cavortin, it's reading. Perhaps we can even be called a news junkie, but here's the thing - we read EVERYBODY. Yessiree, from those crazy Fox News characters to the liberal leaning Huffington Post and from over in Londontown, The Daily Mail- of course online. We spend every Sunday morning at the temple of the New York Times and receive more national magazines than we should, in monthly subscriptions. Locally, we devour Vero Beach Magazine, Vero Life, Verobeach32963, the Hometown News, the Palm Beach Post and yes kids, the Press Journal. So let's just talk about that today all right?

Miss Vero believes that every one of these publications deserves to thrive and be heard. Every one. Yes, we even want the PJ to be there for us. There, we've finally said it.

Apparently this is the topic of the month - the fall of print media, think of it as the dessert to the main course of the wobbly economy. Our own Max Newport had a post last week about his continued frustration with the PJ, and Mr. Laurence Reisman, editor of the Press Journal saw fit to write an editorial on this very subject last Sunday.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/mar/22/laurence-reisman-newspapers-changing-not-dying/?feedback=1#comments
Three comments followed (only three?). One of which was from LDouglas, who also enjoys the TCPalm outlet for comments and we must say is one, if not the most, eloquent of participants.

Now here's the thing. We said it before and we'll say it again, the Press Journal could do a much better job of "reporting" the news. Most of the folks that have the biggest beef with the local press is that they too often pick and choose their news, their views and their perspective on Vero Beach. Please, we all beg, just do a better job. Lalalalalalalalalalalala, we can't hear you, replies the PJ!

Let's also take a look at the Verobeach32963. Now, we believe that they have really stepped up to the plate on some issues and absolutely love the way the VB32963 reporter, ex-mayor, Miss Marybeth McDonald goes after County Commissioner Tom White like a hound dawg on the tail of a treed raccoon.
And of course we'd love to show y'all the articles, but we can't because the VB32963 is not currently updated online, much to our continued dismay.

But, we will take the time to tell y'all about a recent letter, printed in the February 26th edition to the VB32963, from a Mr. Ron Farabee that complained about the reprinting of articles from The Economist, The Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times. Mr. Farabee states:

"These publications, with the exception of the Wall Street Journal, generally lean far to the left, and attempt to indoctrinate their readers with their one-sided view of things.

Many conservatives have a 32963 address and would appreciate fair balance in your commentaries."

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!! Oopps! Oh my goodness, we just fell out of our chair.

Wait, must......... catch........breath.







Still, laughing.





OK.




Now we're mad.

How dare you Mr. Farabee? How dare you claim the barrier island a conservative bunker. Just who, or - as y'all like to grit your teeth and speak like Thurston Howell the third - Just whoomm do you think you are? Did y'all mention a "one-sided view of things"? Just take a little ole peek in the mirror, hunney. Hey! There's your picture! We just saw it on Wikipedia explaining "one-sided view of things"!

To the VB32963's credit, a full page editorial was printed on March 12th, "The news business: Our so-called agenda" defending their publication. We can not take the time, nor do we have the energy to peck out the entire thing, but we do love this line, taken admittedly out of context:

"Spare us any more letters accusing us of a liberal bias."

To Mr. Milton R. Benjamin, we use one of his own favorite phrases and say "kudos" to you Sir! Congratulations on your first year! But please, let us be selfish and ask that y'all please get your online version as current and pretty as the big, white, beautiful, no ink comes off in your hand, publication. Pretty, please?

So here we are. Pokin around the PJ, Laughing at the "liberal bias" of the 32963, listening to Rhett Palmer doing his wacky Rhett Palmer thing, wondering if TV10 will ever emerge from it's zombie zone, reading the blogs of others in Vero like our conservative pal, Charlie Wilson, envious over Jose Lambiet's page2live gossip gig, suportin and reportin on the Drag Queen soirees in town, Viv's Amy Winehouse impression and posting contributions from folks we sometimes agree with and sometimes don't (we're talkin about you, Max).

Why? Because the Beach House is one big cocktail party! Take an hors d'oeuvre, wash it down with a little libation, but for heaven's sake if you're allergic to the shellfish or y'all gave up the hooch years ago, why would that be reason enough to stay home? Miss Vero believes the more, the merrier! Thank goodness there are so many people with so many different perspectives. We don't know about y'all, but a good lip sparrin is about as much fun as y'all can have with your clothes on.

Of course, we have to ask, as much as we like the VB32963, would it be willing to become VB32963-2-0-6-7 if the PJ failed? Yes, the PJ is weak and anemic, but wouldn't it be better to heal the PJ rather than kill it? Is there a press doctor in the house Mr. Reisman? And, although you'll never see Rhett Palmer at a Drag show (wait- we're not exactly sure of that, if y'all remember his video) or hear a Drag Queen on Rhett's show (what would be the point really, if y'all can't see them?), isn't it nice to know that both forms of entertainment exist in the same town? Miss Vero asks y'all, isn't that what our country is really about, our community, our town? That we all have our own place in the sun?

Whether we agree or not, Miss Vero will be the first one to pour y'all a cocktail and invite y'all in. And yes, even you, Mr. Lemmon, just don't be expectin coffee.


MWAH!

missvero@live.com

GREETINGS FROM GREEN ACRES!

Today's "green" takes on a different meaning...

I am Woman, Count Me In

And Make Mine a Million $ Business. Did you know women own 48% of all businesses in the United States? We do. And in the process we employ approximately 27 million people, while contributing more than $3.6 trillion to the marketplace each year. (We also account for more than 70% of consumer spending.)

And although 55% of us provide half or more of our household income, 80% in the workforce (48 million), earn less than $25,000 a year. Most notably, of the 48% who own businesses only 2.6% make more than $1 million in revenue.

Something's wrong with that. And that's what Nell Merlino thought too. She was the driving force of Take Our Daughters to Work Day and is the CEO & Founder of Count Me In.

In case you didn’t already know, Count Me In is an organization designed for women entrepreneurs, by women entrepreneurs, to help their businesses grow or become more efficient.

We see all these articles about economic growth and attracting industry to IRC and yet here we may be missing the forest because of the trees. Count me in has a lot of success stories of women business owners finally topping and exceeding the $1 million mark within a year of joining, and creating jobs along the way. If you're interested, you could lobby the Economic Growth Council (which incidentally is nearly 50% women), the Chamber of Commerce or the county commissioners to partner with them (if they're not already). But if you don't want to wait on them, you can get started right away.

The primary program is designed "to inspire and support a movement of one million women entrepreneurs to build million-dollar businesses by 2010".

But they're aware not everybody wants to grow their business or is ready for the million dollar challenge. Some may just want to learn to run their business more efficiently.

Their business platform "builds on principles of the 5 Keys to Business Growth: Vision, Business Practices, $Growth$, People, and Continuous Improvement.” For instance, one key to business growth often overlooked is people, as in hiring the right employees. In one of the success stories I read when they hired based on different criteria, like hiring people based on their fit to the company instead of how good they looked on their application, the business soared.

For a $100 registration fee you’ll have access to that kind of information. They’ll also assess your business strengths and weaknesses and introduce you to peer groups and experts etc.

If you're already established and looking to grow faster, for the same $100, you can get all that and take it a step further by entering the M3 Race.

The M3 race "is a year-long business growth marathon to inspire women entrepreneurs like you to hit your revenue goals... On average, participants in the Make Mine a Million $ Business program have increased their revenue and job growth rate by more than 40% within a year."

According to their web-site entering the M3 Race grants you access to:

• Online business assessment tool to help you identify where your business stands and what you need to reach your 2009 goal
• Your own personalized Dashboard for easy tracking of your strategic to-do list, short-term goals and current revenues
• Increased exposure to potential customers seeking your goods or services
• Three national events featuring intensive workshops and competitions for prizes to enhance your business or improve your work-life balance
• Opportunities to reach new national markets with partners like American Express OPEN, Reader's Digest, Dell, FedEx and Sam's Club
• Promotion of you and your business through local and national television, newspapers, magazines, radio and blogs
• Prizes and national recognition for crossing your personal finish line, as well as the chance to win our Grand Prize of $100,000 cash for your business

You can find more information about the M3 race here:

http://www.makemineamillion.org./race/register

Count Me In's Mission Statement:

"At Count Me In, we believe in YOU! Our mission is to promote economic independence and the growth of women owned businesses. Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence is the leading national not-for-profit provider of resources, business education and community support for women entrepreneurs seeking to grow micro businesses to million dollar enterprises."

http://www.makemineamillion.org/about

"Local and state officials and government agencies across the country have joined with Count Me In to support women entrepreneurs prosper and create jobs in their communities." If you'd like Local and State Support or you are local and state support, you can find out more about what you can do by contacting Stacey Straughter at sstraughter@countmein.org.

Reader's Digest is a sponsor and is trying to bring more visibility to “this timely, critical effort to support women entrepreneurs and the economic growth their success can generate". Nell Merlino has a Make Mine a Million blog there:

http://www.rd.com/make-mine-a-million-dollar-business

A good Press Release summing up and making it clearer what the M3 Race is all about:

http://www.makemineamillion.org/sites/default/files/M3_Race_and_FL_Awardee_Release_013009.pdf

Linked to Count Me In is a talk radio show for women entrepreneurs. Felicia Joy aka Ms. CEO, is the host. "The show informs, inspires, celebrates and connects women across the U.S. who are running a business or planning to launch one. The live format allows listeners to call in with specific questions for Felicia Joy or guest experts while the show is on the air. Listeners can also email questions (radio@msceoshow.com) during the show for quick on-air responses. It airs live every Tuesday, 2-3pm ET on msceoshow.com and www.blogtalkradio.com, which reaches more than 1.5 million women listeners per month."

http://www.msceoshow.com/abouttheshow/

Ms. CEO's blog:

http://www.msceoshow.com/

"Join a million.
Make a $million.
Create millions of jobs.
Are you in?"

TTFN, LDouglas

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

GREETINGS FROM GREEN ACRES!

Before we get to LDouglas' wonderful post today, Miss Vero would like to say a big hello to a friend that we ran into last evening, who has been a faithful reader in spite of the fact that she doesn't agree with Miss Vero at all! We like to call her "Belle" because she is one of the most lovely, true, conservative, Southern Belles that we know. Our friendship with "Belle" reminds us that, even though we might not see the world the same, somehow the Beach House brings us all together, where a cocktail and a kind word goes a long way. So Miss Belle, knowin that y'all are a big fan of Max Newport , perhaps you'll see fit to join us in the comment cocktail lounge!

Also, we must tell y'all that the Fabulous City of Fellsmere has a new website, where the motto is "cultivate. nurture. grow...":
http://www.cityoffellsmere.org
It is very user friendly (we love the calendar!) and informative, perhaps we can see this type of site for Vero, Sebastian and the county. A job well done by Mr. Harvey Wasserman and the great folks at http://eclipseme.com


And now, back to LDouglas in Green Acres, who's post we would like to add to by providin y'all with, our new congressman, Mr. Bill Posey's web site:
http://posey.house.gov/
Remember kids, your elected officials are just waiting to hear from y'all, so don't disappoint!




Spring is in the air

It's that time of year again, can you feel it? Spring is in the air. It's time once again for planting spring flowers and something else-- planting your opinion-- in the garden of Florida government. The regular Florida legislative session is starting on March 3rd. The full session is only 60 calendar days (including weekends) so it's going to go by fast. As usual, there’s good and bad news. The bad news is there are hundreds of bills that may (or may not) come up for a vote and our budget woes continue, but the good news is that it's never been easier to have a say about them.

I know some people ask "why bother?" because they feel like their opinion is different from the mainstream or it won't matter. But it does. They say for every letter or phone call received, a politician (or editor) knows there are many others who feel the same. So there is some power and influence behind one letter (or phone call).

Of course, not everything is cut and dry. The recent stimulus plan is a good example of that. I've read the majority of people writing and calling were against it (phone calls are influential too). However, it still passed. But the part that shows the effectiveness of opinions through letters and calls to me is that the birth control provisions were removed while a lot of the environmental provisions held up. There were many religious groups speaking out against including birth control measures and many environmental groups speaking up for the environmental measures- and they both had an impact.

While I sometimes find the process confusing and hard to keep up with, I'm hoping to be able to keep up and keep you informed of when an important bill is coming up for a vote. If you have an issue you care about, there is probably a group with a lobbyist for it willing to send you e-mail alerts. Do a search on Google. The things most important to me as you may know are the "Love Triangle"- food, environment, and health. For Florida's environmental issues, I'll be using the alerts and updates from Dave Cullen, the lobbyist for the Sierra Club, as well as the alerts from the Audubon Society.

I like to use the form letters from those organizations for ease. They're not as effective as an independent letter but they do help. Most of them let you edit it or add your own thoughts. But when it's something really important to me, I also write a separate letter and send it via e-mail. I do my best to keep it short and polite as I know they're busy and they deserve to be treated with respect. If it's real close to a vote, sometimes I'll also hand write a couple sentences and fax it. (I also follow up with a phone call, at times.)

And if there's an editorial I agree with about an issue, I'll e-mail that. I received the fastest reply ever from Governor Crist after sending one of those.

If you ask me, there is no more important time than now to make sure you speak up for those things important to you. We're facing hard times and politicians don't always tend to do what's right during hard times.

Here's a link to the Florida Senate web page listing all the House Bills for the 2009 Regular Session:
http://www.flsenate.gov/session/

Note that page is just for House Bills, odd numbered 1-99, and you have to look to the right to jump to House Bills numbered 101 up, etc.
To get the Senate Bills, you have to use the box, ”select chamber", located above to view them.

Remember the old adage, "You reap what you sow"? Experience in politics tells us that's not always true but it shouldn't stop us from choosing which seeds we believe most in. When all is said and done there's always the possibility we may reap something different. But like gardeners we can have faith in those small seeds and cling to the hope that this year, we'll end up with a good harvest.

Some tips from the Sierra Club on how to write an effective letter if you need a refresher: http://www.sierraclub.org/takeaction/toolkit/letters.asp

TTFN, LDouglas







MWAH!
missvero@live.com

GREETINGS FROM GREEN ACRES!

I've never sinned, I've got a friend in food

With all the back and forth of religious/anti-religious letters on TCPalm lately (and though I haven't been able to keep up with them all) one thing I've seen repeated in the comment section from several of the devout Christians' is that they have a duty to inform others. That describes how I feel when it comes to health and so I've come to the conclusion that 'health' is my religion of choice. I'm not exceptionally devout by any means, (I do quite a bit of sinning) but I try to be faithful.

It is said that only 5 to 10% of the most "popular" cancers are related to genetic factors. The rest are attributed to environmental factors. Your first line of defense is one of the things you have a certain amount of control over- what you eat and how you live. Though there are a lot of factors beyond our control, nutrition matters and is the basis of a really good article in the Feb/March 2009 issue of Mother Earth News titled "Healthy Choices to Keep Cancer at Bay". I've read quite a bit about the subject and thought the author, Linda B. White, M.D., summarized it nicely into 14 easy steps anyone can incorporate into their lives to help prevent cancer.

It's a fairly short article and I could just as easily leave you a link and leave it at that. But I know your busy and though I'll include the link below if you want to read it in its entirety, I'll summarize her summary for you.

1. Follow a plant based diet. They're filled with antioxidants; they stimulate the immune system, enhance detoxification and help regulate hormones.

2. Graze on berries. Include cherries and red grapes too as they're nutrient dense and anti-inflammatory (inflammation is blamed for other diseases as well).

3. Eat from the cruciferous vegetable family- broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, alfalfa sprouts, brussels sprouts, etc. (Let me add, try to eat at least one serving of those daily.)

4. Eat complex carbs. Refined carbs besides being fiberless, lead to high blood sugar- sugar feeds cancer cells.

5. Add spice to your life. (No, not that kind of spice, though it’s good for you as well). Turmeric and ginger to be specific as both have "potent" anti-inflammatory properties.

6. Go for garlic. It's an antioxidant which boosts immunity, inhibits the growth of cancer cells, and aids enzymes that detoxify carcinogens. Chop, crush, or slice it ten minutes before cooking so you don't destroy the good stuff.

7. Minimize meat. Especially, processed meats and red meat. (Also, grilled meats, well-done meat and fried meat.)

8. Choose your fats wisely. High intake of animal fats and trans fats (hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated oils) increase cancer risk while olive oil, most vegetable oils and cold-water fish oil don't and seem to be protective.

9. Regular exercise. No excuses. Schedule it into your day like it's a job, a very well paying job-- because it is. Overweight women who lose 20 pounds and keep it off cut their risk of breast cancer in half. (I'd wager the same weight loss would cut a man’s prostate cancer risk too.)

10. Avoid tobacco. It's responsible for nearly 30% of all cancers. Enough said.

Okay, now I'm talking blasphemy at the Beach House but here goes:

11. Keep alcohol to a minimum. Heavy drinking increases the risk of cancer.

12. Avoid stress overload. Hard to do if your keeping alcohol to a minimum but exercise should equal it out. There's no smoking gun linking stress to cancer but stress does impair your immune system.

13. Stay social. Especially important if you’re already battling cancer.

14. Get screened. Don't miss having a yearly exam. Early detection increases your chance of beating cancer should you have it.

So there it is. All pretty simple to add to your routine if your not already doing it. And hopefully sharing it with you will put me in the good graces of the health Gods… Or that other "Spirit in the Sky". ;-)

Here's the link to the above mentioned article:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/How-To-Prevent-Cancer.aspx

Mother Earth News (my most favorite magazine) is a true bargain at $10 a year if you subscribe online rather than use an insert. Of course reading it online is free. If you have time, check out the Home page. It's loaded with links to interesting articles to help you live more "wisely".
http://www.motherearthnews.com/

TTFN, LDouglas



Amen sister!


MWAH!

missvero@live.com

GREETINGS FROM GREEN ACRES!

SEND MORE CHOCOLATE!

Will you be my Valentine?

Only if you bring me a box of fair trade or organic chocolate. Not really. I'll gratefully accept the box of chocolates I'm sure to get from either Russell Stover or Whitman's and be thankful my valentine took the time to look for a dark chocolate assortment.

The internet never ceases to amaze me. My theme this Wednesday before Valentines Day was not to preach or chide anyone about the consequences of their choices but just to raise awareness. In this case, on their choice of chocolate. Looking for a catchy phrase or quote, I googled "awareness" and the fifth result down catches my eye because it states "An interesting fact about white people is that they firmly believe that all of the world’s problems can be solved through awareness."

Hrrrumph. Whoever wrote it has damn good insight and maybe he/she has some pegged but things and people can’t be so easily characterized or stereotyped. Raising awareness may not solve every problem but it certainly does others. And it has to be better than saying nothing at all. With that, I'll share what I know about of the way chocolate is grown and processed. (In my mind's eye, when awareness alone won't solve a problem, there is always the hope that someone with more energy and passion will pick it up their newfound awareness and carry it to a solution.)

Just like coffee, if farmers clear forests to grow cacao beans instead of in the shade of them, they require a lot more pesticides and fertilizer. Sometimes pesticide residue shows up in the finished product. Lead is also a problem. I've read lead in chocolate is partly from equipment used to process it. Also, partly because Africa hasn't outlawed leaded gasoline and the outer shells of the beans absorb it from the fields and it gets transferred at processing. Other than that I couldn't find much information other than the FDA declaring levels in chocolate safe for consumption- which is really little solace to me.

The worst thing about chocolate though is that a lot of the beans are picked by child labor. I have to admit, I'm not totally against child labor. Ideally no child should have to work for their living but many children work to save their family's farm and many wouldn't be fed at all if not for their labor. However, there's estimated to be at least 12,000 child slaves (some claim the numbers are in the hundreds of thousands) picking cacao beans in many places in Africa. Stolen off the streets in places like Mali or swindled from their poor parents with promises of education and a better life only to be beaten and forced to work hard 12 hour days.

Africa is "aware" it's a problem to many people around the world and as one of their major export crops are under pressure to stop it. But only because the end consumer put pressure on the big manufacturers like Hershey's and M&M Mars et al which in turn put pressure on them. Sometimes the loudest protest is one that you make with your purchases.

The only way to be sure the cacao beans your chocolate is made from wasn't grown by child slave labor is to buy fair trade chocolate. Organically grown is also said to be free of slave labor because the organic label comes with labor standards and there are no organic farms in Africa. (Chocolate from beans grown in South America is assumed to be free of slave labor.)

A study reported by the BBC indicated that melting chocolate in your mouth produced an increase in brain activity and heart rate that was more intense than during passionate kissing, and lasted four times as long after the activity had ended. That's a good thing for us chocoholics because who knows what we'd be known as if it was the other way around.

If you’re lucky enough to receive a box of chocolates, by all means, enjoy them. But in the future should you want to splurge for quality and for the benefit of others, try a fair trade or organically grown chocolate. One of my favorites is a dark chocolate bar by Green & Black's Organic. (70% cocoa) The large bars are 2 for $5.00 on sale this week at Publix. Wal-Mart also carries them but I don't remember the price.

You can find more brands and information here:
http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/main.html

TTFN, LDouglas

And while we're on the subject of chocolate, did y'all know that there is a fabulous chocolate shop right here in downtown Vero that has fair trade and organic chocolate? It's so nice to have local shops to support, check it out:

http://www.faithhopeandchocolate.com/home

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

GREETINGS FROM GREEN ACRES!

WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE

I'm subscribed to Brown and Caldwell's Water News (thanks to a cyber friend) and every week they send me a round-up of water news from all over. Time after time it's pretty much the same story. In Pinellas County Florida the headline reads: "Officials worry about drinking water supplies" and the story is "lack of rainfall coupled with increasing demand for water has drawn the reservoir down"...... "officials are worried the restrictions may not be enough". Another article read "despite spending millions of dollars on a reservoir and a desalination plant, Tampa Bay Water expects to pump far more groundwater than it's supposed to this spring..."

In California the headline is "Severe drought expected after mild January" and the "story is: "We're definitely in really bad shape," said Elissa Lynn, chief meteorologist with the state Department of Water Resources.”People can expect to pay higher prices for produce ... and more agencies may be rationing ... some raising fees. We just don't have enough water."

In Mexico the headline is: "Mexico City braces for water rationing" and the story is: "Supplies will be cut or reduced to homes in many areas of the capital this weekend, making a scarce resource even scarcer. We are running out of water,' an official said."

(In all fairness why does water ever make the news? Too much, too little, or too polluted. Though lately, I've been seeing worn out infrastructure added to the mix.)

The approval of the Pointe at Chessers Gap, a town house development in Sebastian consisting of 116-units on 14.5-acres got me thinking about our local supply of water. It doesn't seem like a big deal until you start thinking about all the other high density subdivisions previously approved or in the pipelines, or all the land you see sitting around with for sale signs on it. I went to the Indian River County website to learn where the water comes from for those with city water and what their plans are to meet future water needs. One page states the water currently comes from "an abundant groundwater supply" through two 750' deep wells to the Floridan Aquifer. But in the PDF file titled "CDM Alternative Water Supply Master Plan- Draft, IRC Department of Utility Services June 2007" it stated at the end of 2006 they were in danger of exceeding what they were allotted to take from that "abundant supply" and had to get a "Temporary Consumptive Use Permit" in order to withdraw more. According to the Pinellas County article, "once salt water enters an aquifer, that source of drinking water is lost forever". That's why you don't want to draw it down too far. 78 pages of CDM's report not thoroughly read or completely understood I've condensed it anyway to good news and bad news; as follows:

The good news:
They know we need to plan for future water needs.
The Board of County Commissioners (I assume) is pursuing alternative water supplies.
They state the growth between the years 2003 to 2006 far exceeded what was anticipated. (Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery, so I've heard.)
They drafted the alternatives with the pros and cons as well as cost impacts.
They laid out objectives. ;-)

The bad news:
I don't believe the planning table they're using for expected population growth through 2025 takes into account increasing densities.
As it is the population expected to be served by city water by 2025 (173,329) is about double what it was in 2006 (88,233). (Note: double in less than 20 years and that's just where city water is served.)
The report recommends an alternative source by 2017.
The alternatives are surficial aquifer withdrawals (shallow wells like those for homes not served by city water), surface water (reservoirs) and desalination.
They use Tampa Bay as references. Tampa Bay is in Pinellas County. They've already been there, done all that and they still don't have enough. See above.

Darn. When I first heard about the 10,000 acre reservoir planned in Fellsmere I thought I could set water supply aside as a concern of growth. But after reading the article about Pinellas County's water woes; it dawned on me the reservoir in Fellsmere will be funded by the St. Johns Water Management District. The SJWMD covers 18 counties from IRC all the way to Nassau County. How many of those counties will be relying on that source upon completion too? I know a couple of counties above IRC have reached their sustainable limits of aquifer withdrawals and need alternatives now.

Is that how it happened to Pinellas County? They counted on a big reservoir for future water supplies so they didn't see the harm with a big subdivision here and an increased density subdivision there. When that was used up it was on to a desalination plant, and yet more subdivisions here and there.... If we're looking to Tampa Bay Water as a guide to our future water needs, are we setting ourselves up for the same story? The same 'old' story being told around the country and the world?

Well I guess we can always drink wine. Oh wait, no water, no grapes, no wine.

Link to the CDM Alternative Water Supply Plan:
http://www.ircutilities.com/Alternative_Water_Supply_Plan.pdf

TTFN, LDouglas

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

GREETINGS FROM GREEN ACRES!

The good, the not so good, and the indifferent

Here’s some news for people who care about Florida's environmental future. The good news is on Jan. 8th the Public Service Commission voted for a mandate that Florida has to get 20% of it's electricity from solar, hydropower, biomass, or wind, by 2020. The PSC even stuck to their guns by not allowing nuclear energy as part of the mandate.

David Guest of Earthjustice says the PSC's vote is mostly due to Governor Crist's executive order requiring the state to lower carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by 2025. So "20 by 20" is a step towards thwarting climate change but as usual, it's a step worth taking on its own because it'll reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and would ultimately save us money on our energy costs. It would also save us on health care costs due to less pollution.

Of course the PSC vote doesn't make it a done deal. The "20 by 20" recommendation still has to be approved by the Florida Legislature. You can send a pre-written letter through Audubon to your Representative and Senator in support. The letter is also in support of better emissions standards for autos. As with most pre-written letters, you’re free to edit it as you wish. http://audubonaction.org/campaign/20_by_2020

The not so good news is the Legislature in order to balance the budget "froze" the funding for Florida Forever due to our economic crisis. Florida Forever has enabled us to purchase and conserve wildlife habitat, greenways, floodplains, beaches, wetlands, and forests throughout Florida. I know we're facing hard times but hard times happen to be a good time to buy real estate. (Funding has also been cut for the Water Management Lands Trust Fund and the Land Acquisition Trust Fund and from what I heard those cuts are permanent.) Representative Poppell said we have other priorities. I don't doubt that but buying land isn't quite the same as spending money. It's an investment. Besides, shouldn't clean water and working eco-systems be a priority?

Governor Crist said he might veto the cuts to Florida Forever because he's afraid they would become permanent. He has until Jan. 29th to sign or veto. There may be time to send a letter. Audubon also has one ready to go. You can find that one here: http://audubonaction.org/campaign/urge_gov_crist_to_veto_florida_forever_cuts


The indifferent news is about the Florida Marine Fisheries Enhancement Initiative. In my first blog on Green Acres I talked about the fish hatcheries they were trying to get going. Instead of going through the usual channels of raising money for them, they're going for the gold- the President Obama stimulus gold.

"Saltwater hatcheries seek part of stimulus package":
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/jan/22/saltwater-hatcheries-seek-part-stimulus-package/

Again, I know we're facing hard times but a healthy fishery is more than a source of recreation, it also provides jobs. But more importantly, healthy fisheries are a renewable source of food. A pre-written letter from the Coastal Conservation association in support can be found here:
http://www.votervoice.net/Core.aspx?Screen=compose2&SessionID=%24RETUSERID%3d%3aTARGET%3dtrue%3aATID%3d12802%3aAUTOFILL%3dtrue%3aISSUEID%3d15991%3aRETUSERTYPE%3d%3aSITEID%3d0%3aAPP%3dGAC%3aTARGETID%3d27986315%3aVV_CULTURE%3den-us%3aAID%3d767%24


"Coast to coast from LA to Chicago". Is it just me or has anybody else been humming that song this week?
"No need to ask.He's a smooth operator,smooth operator"...

TTFN, LDouglas

MWAH!

missvero@live.com

GREETINGS FROM GREEN ACRES!

Shmeat: It's What's for Dinner!

Have you heard about Peta's offer of a million dollar X prize to anyone who develops an "in vitro" chicken-meat product that has a taste and texture indistinguishable from real chicken and be able to manufacture it in large enough quantities to be sold commercially, and successfully at a competitive price in at least 10 states?

It caused some controversy in their organization because some Peta members are not only opposed to eating meat from living animals but they're opposed to eating any meat even if it comes from a test tube.

Scientists are already working on "in-vitro" meat also known as, vat-grown meat, hydroponic meat, test-tube meat, cultured meat, victimless meat, and finally, for regular folks, shmeat.

The meat is grown from a cell culture and not from a live animal. They harvest the cells from an animal, such as a pig, and place it in a "nutrient-rich medium that mimics blood. Once the cells multiply they are attached to a spongy scaffold or sheet (sheet + meat = shmeat) that has been soaked with nutrients and stretched to increase cell size and protein content". It doesn't grow into the shape of an animal and it can't grow bones. It's basically just a lump of shmeat.

Proponents say it's a good way to meet the protein needs of a growing population. It would end not just the growth of factory farms to feed that population but would end all factory farming. And unlike factory farming it wouldn't hurt the environment. It would be healthier for us because they could manipulate fat content and nutrients. And it would be free of hormones, chemicals and diseases. They also claim it's no less natural than raising farm animals in "intensive confinement systems, injecting them with synthetic hormones, and feeding them artificial diets made up of antibiotics and animal wastes."

Opponents say it's "too yucky". That there could be safety risks because we just don't know what unintended consequences there are when fooling with nature. They say it's more energy intensive than raising meat in a natural setting. That the nutrient-rich medium has to come from an animal’s blood or a more expensive process of genetically altering a bacterium. That it'll create even more distance between humans and nature. They also say it won't qualify as healthy because it'll need additives and flavor enhancers to make it palatable.

I've already pointed out how our agricultural system isn't really prepared or capable at this time to handle a population bubble. I've also pointed out the interconnectedness of our health, our environment and the way we grow our food. One way that is apparent and can be magnified is when looking at factory farms which are the way a majority of our meat is raised. I won't tell you the horror stories but you should know there are plenty and they're real. For the animal, for our health and for our environment. It also requires much of the Midwest's best farmland to be used to grow cattle and pig food rather than people food. And raising meat is water intensive. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat whereas a pound of wheat requires 25.

Shmeat sounds like the answer to all that. But somehow I find the thought of eating it more objectionable than factory farmed animals. I don't know what it is but it's more than the yuck factor. If it were available right now I wouldn't buy it or eat it. How about you? Up for a shmeatroast, shmeatburger, shmeatwings, or a shmeatdog? How about a shspam sandwich?

Here's the article I quoted from above:
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/12/4/101038/688?source=food

BTW, I'm not the Lisa who asked the question but I felt the same as she did when I first heard about "in-vitro" meat. "....I can't tell if the prospect of test-tube meat should make me feel relieved or horrified".

TTFN, LDouglas

Hey! Did y'all know? Alkeehaul is completely vegan - just sayin.

MWAH!

missvero@live.com