Remedy?

One thing is certain. When it comes to protecting our children, there are no easy answers. Sure, we could do a better job of flagging those that are correctly or incorrectly perceived as a danger to themselves and others. Although the powers that be would likely do so with the kind of coercive labeling that … Read more

Consumer Sovereignty and the Apocalypse-proof Dream

Dreaming tiny dreams has become a favorite pastime in the past five or 10 years.  The “tiny house movement” is gaining greater traction as ever more people choose to downsize for economic or ecological reasons. A small house, usually being defined as one offering less than 400 sq ft of space, offers a stimulating challenge about living … Read more

The Distended Belly of Government

Low fat religion spawned legions of processed foods, products with ramped up levels of sugar, and equally dubious sweet substitutes, to compensate for the inevitable loss of taste when fat is removed. The anti-saturated fat dogma gave manufacturers the perfect excuse to wean us off real foods that had sustained us for centuries, now portrayed … Read more

Food Fraud – 101

On the issue of pink slime, it’s not as if the food industry saw the light, they just felt the heat! The main supplier of ammoniated pink slime, Beef Products, Inc., has been spiraling down. But now there’s a good chance you are eating some of the other unappetizing ingredients that simply don’t belong in … Read more

Net-Neutrality = Press Freedom

Net-Neutrality is the principle that data packets on the Internet should be moved impartially, without regard to content, destination or source. Throughout the history of the United States “Freedom of the Press” has been touted as a fundamental right when, in fact, such freedom has truly existed only for the one who owns the press. … Read more

Making the Case for Open Source

No one makes a better case for open source hardware and software than the manufacturer of a high-priced, high-end CNC mill like the Mori Seiki NV5000 A/40. Even if you own the machine outright, if you move it at all, a GPS and gyro sensor package in the machine will automatically shut it down and … Read more

The Most Insidious Symbioses

The United States is the world’s largest grower and consumer of genetically-modified (GM) foods. As of 2010, the United States had 66.8 million hectares of GM crops planted, covering 16.5 percent of our total agricultural area. Because GM foods are made with proteins from organisms that weren’t previously part of the food chain, GM foods … Read more

Ag-gag — When the Law is an Ass

North Dakota, Montana and Kansas were the first to embark on what is known as Ag Gag back in 1990-91. Three more states elected to impair the First Amendment in 2012 when Iowa, Utah, and Missouri lost their independence to big-agri. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Mercy for Animals, The American Society … Read more

Pseudo Philanthropy

Wealthy philanthropic giving is on the rise, paralleling the rise in super-rich giving that characterized the late nineteenth century, when magnates (some called them “robber barons”) like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller established philanthropic institutions that survive today. But a large portion of the charitable deductions now claimed by America’s wealthy are for donations … Read more